Given the lack of U.S. enthusiasm to develop space weapons, some ask why not sign a treaty to halt a space arms race before it starts? That's a legitimate question, but it's also one with a good answer. I am among those who believe that the threat of space weapons--particularly space-based missile defenses--played an important role in ending the Cold War. If the very threat of space weapons could yield such leverage against a peer competitor, what could someone offer the United States now that's worth giving up that potentially powerful position for all time?

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Worden, Simon P. "High Anxiety." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Vol. 62, No. 2 (March/April 2006): 21-23. [ 2 quotes ]