It is clear that the U.S. perceives its own national interests to be at variance with international interests in space arms control negotiations, at least as represented in the CD. Like other states, the U.S. has shown considerable antipathy toward arms control agreements that significantly restrict current and future military flexibility or limit arenas in which the U.S. has a substantial advantage or a particular interest. For example, in a recent speech given at National Defense University, President Bush described the U.S. position on the ABM Treaty as follows:

We need a new framework that allows us to build missile defenses to counter the different threats of today�s world. To do so, we must move beyond the constraints of the 30 year old ABM Treaty. This treaty does not recognize the present, or point us to the future. It enshrines the past. No treaty that prevents us from addressing today's threats, that prohibits us from pursuing promising technology to defend ourselves, our friends and our allies is in our interests or in the interests of world peace.

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Billick, Thomas W. Arms Control Implications for Military Operations in Space. Maxwell AFB, AL: USAF Air University, May 2001. [ 6 quotes ] [ page 47 ]