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DIPLOMACY: US NUCLEAR STRATEGY
Rethinking The Unthinkable
How Bush seeks to radically alter world nuclear
equations with the NMD
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BOLD MOVE: Bush announces NMD plans in Washington DC
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# US President Bush wants to forsake the Cold
War concept of MAD or mutual assured destruction by moving away from the
offensive "balance of terror" logic to a more defensive nuclear-weapons
architecture.
# To protect the US and its allies against a
rogue nuclear nation launch Bush proposes to build a $100-200 billion
National Missile Defence (NMD) system. It is a multi-layer shield of satellites,
aircraft, missiles and ships to detect incoming enemy ballistic missiles
and destroy them in flight.
# The technology is still at a nascent stage
with a modest US interceptor missile capability to be ready by 2004. But
a counter from air and ship based systems and even space platforms like
lasers are at the conceptual stage.
Should India Be Worried By The NMD?
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ARMITAGE: US wants help with the fine print
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CUTS IN ARSENAL: Under the NMD, Bush proposes
to unilaterally cut the US nuclear arsenal from 7,500 to 2,000 weapons.
Russia, which has a similar number, will have to follow suit. India is
happy to see such major reductions.
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SINGH: India welcomes it but
has questions |
THE CHINA SYNDROME: India's real concern
has been China's hostile reaction to the US proposal. If China decides
to build a counter, then India would be forced to join a costly arms race
that could destabilise the region.
TREATY BASHING: The fear is that if US
abrogates the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 by building an NMD,
what's to prevent it knocking off other useful multi-national treaties
if it finds them inconvenient to its interests.
SON OF STAR WARS: The major worry is
that Bush may use NMD to put military weapons in outer space as had been
proposed during President Reagan's short-lived Star Wars programme. That
would open a Pandora's box.
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