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Bush's Stance on Missile Defense 19 July 2001 Joseph Rotblat,
Michael Atiyah, and Martin Rees Sir, As President George W. bush arrives here, there is widespread concern about his determination to press ahead with an anti-ballistic missile system. The principal fear is that this would trigger a new arms race. Unless President Bush can secure Russian agreement, which seems unlikely, he would withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, after which Russia might in turn withdraw from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and Start II and suspend negotiations on further nuclear disarmament. China (the real target of national missile defense?), India, Pakistan and others could extend their work on weapons of mass destruction. NMD may well not work, despite last weekend's test, and it could readily be bypassed. "rogue states" are more likely to send chemical or biological agents in a suitcase than in missiles. The way to deal with "rogue states" is in any case by constructive diplomacy, as the EU is doing with Iran and the US under Clinton began with North Korea. While it may be impossible to prevent President Bush proceeding with a limited system based in Alaska, Tony Blair can make a positive move in the right direction , by clearly stating that the UK would not permit Flyingdales and Menwith Hill to be used for an NMD programme. The new US Administration seems determined to set its own agenda in respect of international agreements; our Government can set an example by refusing to follow automatically in its wake. Yours faithfully, |