Return to Armageddon : The United States and the Nuclear Arms Race, 1981-1999

When the Cold War ended, the world let out a collective sigh of relief as the fear of nuclear confrontation between superpowers appeared to vanish overnight. As we approach the new millennium, however, the proliferation of nuclear weapons to ever more belligerent countries and factions raises alarming new concerns about the threat of nuclear war. In Return to Armageddon , Ronald Powaski assesses the dangers that beset us as we enter an increasingly unstable political world. With the START I and II treaties, completed by George Bush in 1991 and 1993 respectively, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), signed by Bill Clinton in 1996, it seemed as if the nuclear clock had been successfully turned back to a safer hour. But Powaski shows that there is much less reason for optimism than we may like to think. Continued U.S.-Russian cooperation can no longer be assured. To make matters worse, Russia has not ratified the START II Treaty and the U.S. Senate has failed to approve the CTBT. Perhaps even more ominously, the effort to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by nonweapon states is threatened by nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan. The nuclear club is growing and its most recent members are increasingly hostile. Indeed, it is becoming ever more difficult to keep track of the expertise and material needed to build nuclear weapons, which almost certainly will find their way into terrorist hands. Accessible, authoritative, and provocative, Return to Armageddon provides both a comprehensive account of the arms control process and a startling reappraisal of the nuclear threat that refuses to go away. "In Return to Armageddon, Ronald E. Powaski assesses the dangers that beset us as we enter an increasingly unstable political world. With the Start I and II treaties, completed by George Bush in 1991 and 1993 respectively, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), signed by Bill Clinton in 1996, it seemed as if the nuclear clock had been successfully turned back to a safer hour. But Powaski shows that there is much less reason for optimism than we may like to think. Continued U.S-Russian cooperation can no longer be assured. To make matters worse, Russia has not ratified the Start II Treaty and the U.S. Senate has failed to approve the CTBT. Perhaps even more ominous, the effort to prevent the acquisition of nuclear weapons by nonweapon states is threatened by nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan. The nuclear club is growing and its most recent members are increasingly hostile. Indeed, it is becoming ever more difficult to keep track of the expertise and materials needed to build nuclear weapons, which almost certainly will find their way into terrorist hands."--BOOK JACKET Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Introduction: The Nuclear Arms Race, 1939-1981......Page 14 1 The Reagan Nuclear Buildup......Page 25 2 The Reagan About-Face......Page 50 3 Bush and START I......Page 94 4 Bush and START II......Page 139 5 Clinton, START II, and the ABM Treaty......Page 176 6 Clinton, and Counterproliferation......Page 216 Conclusion: The Enduring Nuclear Threat......Page 262 Afterword......Page 270 Acronyms and Technical Terms......Page 284 Notes......Page 288 Suggested Readings......Page 308 B......Page 312 C......Page 313 G......Page 314 L......Page 315 P......Page 316 S......Page 317 U......Page 318 Z......Page 319 During the Reagan, Bush and Clinton administrations, the United States, through its victory in the Cold War, led the world away from the brink of nuclear annihilation, and then slowly became aware of the increased threat of nuclear confrontation in a world more splintered than ever before In January 1981 Ronald Reagan, like the overwhelming majority of his Cold War predecessors, entered the White House with almost no background in national security affairs.