"This article considers the potential impact of the Hague Code of Conduct, in both the near- and long-term, on efforts to address threats to regional and global security posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and related technology. While the omens from the launch are hardly auspicious, the initiative may yet prove able to make a valuable contribution to strengthening this crucial but sadly neglected aspect of the international non-proliferation regime."
The authors, researchers at the Union of Concerned Scientists, reveal the inherent anti-satellite capabilities of several of the U.S. military's missile defense plans.
Theresa Hitchens, vice president of the Center for Defense Information, calls for greater public debate over the merits of U.S. plans to deploy space weapons.
The author argues that international efforts to block nanotechnology research should be accelerated because of the importance nanotechnology and MEMs research will have for the development of fourth-generation nuclear weapons.
The authors propose a three-stage approach towards first controlling and then eliminating the threat of space weapons and space warfare.
Russia and China have presented a draft outline for a 'Treaty on the Prevention of the Deployment of Weapons in Outer Space, [and of] the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects" to the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva. Moscow and Beijing have long warned that, in the absence of such an accord, US missile defence plans may lead to the development and deployment of space-based weapons.
"This article assesses concerns about the potential development of new weapons and risks of mass destruction made possible by nanotechnology - the rapidly evolving field of atomic and molecular engineering.1 It will argue that such concerns are valid and will need to be addressed by the international arms control and non-proliferation regime."
Ambassador Graham argues that the international community should pursue a new treaty that establishes "a space regime, under which the international community decisively enshrines space as a peaceful environment."
The author makes a case for establishing cooperative projects between India and Pakistan to share commercial satellite imagery on nuclear facilities to "provide a non-intrusive beginning in greater nuclear transparency" between the two countries.
Mark Smith examines the current European debate on missile defence: their concerns over missile proliferation and how to respond to it, and their predilection for missile defence of their own national territory.