ABM Treaty
ABM 조약
An arms control treaty signed by Nixon and Brezhnev at the 1972 Moscow Summit, capping each superpower at two ABM sites (later reduced to one) with no more than 100 interceptors each, so as to preserve the mutual vulnerability that underpinned strategic stability under MAD. It remained the keystone of superpower arms control for 30 years, until the George W. Bush administration unilaterally withdrew in 2002.
In depth
Background and Strategic Logic
By the late 1960s both superpowers were developing systems to intercept incoming ICBMs. Yet strategic analysts on both sides recognized a paradox: nationwide ABM deployments would destabilize deterrence rather than strengthen it. A country confident its ABM shield could neutralize a retaliatory strike has an incentive to strike first; the opponent, knowing this, faces pressure to preempt. ABM thus undermined the mutual vulnerability at the heart of mutual assured destruction (MAD).
The Treaty
Signed by Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev in Moscow on 26 May 1972 as part of the SALT I negotiations, the treaty limited each party to two ABM deployment areas (one for the capital, one for an ICBM field) with no more than 100 interceptors each. Sea-based, air-based, space-based, and mobile land-based ABM systems were banned outright. A 1974 protocol reduced the allowed sites to one per side; the USSR kept Moscow, the United States the Safeguard complex in North Dakota.
Reykjavik and SDI
When Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983, the ABM Treaty returned to the center of Cold War tension. At the 1986 Reykjavik Summit, Mikhail Gorbachev insisted on confining SDI to laboratory testing and banning withdrawal from the treaty for ten years. Reagan refused to treat SDI as a bargaining chip, and the summit, on the verge of abolishing nuclear weapons entirely, collapsed over this single issue.
Demise
The treaty remained the cornerstone of strategic stability after the Cold War, but the George W. Bush administration, citing the ICBM threat from 'rogue states,' gave notice of withdrawal in December 2001. The treaty formally lapsed in June 2002. The United States subsequently deployed the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system in Alaska and California.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) Full treaty history, provisions, Reykjavik/SDI conflict, and 2002 withdrawal
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian article: strategic logic of ABM paradox, Krasnoyarsk radar violation, SDI impact from Soviet perspective
- 2009-2017.state.gov U.S. State Department: official treaty text, site limits (100 interceptors, 2 areas), Standing Consultative Commission, review process
- nsarchive2.gwu.edu National Security Archive: Kissinger's strategic rationale, ABM Treaty as source of strategic stability, Reagan/Bush reinterpretation disputes