Should not ignore the detrimental effect space weapons will have on non-proliferation efforts
It is unfortunate that the connection between space warfare initiatives and
proliferation has been little noted, since the two are bound together so closely. Unless the trade-off between flight-testing and deploying space warfare capabilities and proliferation is recognized, the implementation of the U.S. Air Force’s new doctrine for offensive counterspace operations will spur more proliferation and generate increased dangers for national, regional, and international security. We believe that the extension of
U.S. military dominance into space, when accompanied by a low regard for international compacts designed to prevent proliferation and promote disarmament, will result in more, not less, proliferation.
The U.S. impulse to flight-test and deploy offensive counterspace capabilities comes at a time when the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT) regime is facing serious challenges. We view the advocacy of U.S. space dominance as a useful prism through which to analyze why proliferation concerns are growing, and why efforts to strengthen nonproliferation and disarmament norms have encountered such great difficulty in recent years.
Katz-Hyman, Michael and Michael Krepon. "Viewpoint: Space Weapons and Proliferation." Non Proliferation Review. Vol. 12, No. 2 (July 2005): 323-341. [ 15 quotes ]
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