le defenses. President Bush claims “that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty is irrelevant, the agreement continues to stabilize the strategic nuclear balance and does not impede research and early development of national missile defense systems planned in the near future” (The Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Arms 2). Many feel that this treaty is vital to maintain our current stability, a former U.S. legal advisor for the Nixon Administration’s ABM Treaty negotiation team says “The ABM Treaty remains essential to arms control as well as nuclear non-proliferation because it promotes stability and facilitates offensive nuclear weapons reductions. We must work with Russia, China, and others to accomplish our global security goals and not act unilaterally” (The Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Arms 2). This treaty in the foundation of our safety we would be putting ourselves at risk as well as our allies if we were to violate the terms of the agreement. The risk of the consequences we would face from developing a national missile defense system would be overwhelming, with the perceived safety of being able to defend from a small-scale nuclear attack being a very small advantage in comparison. The fear of a single nuclear missile attack from a rogue nation is a strong motivation to proceed with the development of a national missile defense. . If the United States were able to develop an accurately working national missile defense system the results would be ineffective and counterproductive. While there is no single solution to our current threat of nuclear war we should not allow for the national missile defense system to put at risk all that we have obtained to this point. Works CitedRumsfeld, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Munich Conference on European Security Policy. Germany: Munich, 2001. *http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2001/s20010203-secdef.htm*. Nuclear Experts Say Bush Missile Plan Will Decrease O...
