What was the impact of the Strategic Defense Initiative?
The Strategic Defense Initiative was ultimately most effective not as an anti-ballistic missile defense system, but as a propaganda tool which could put military and economic pressure on the Soviet Union to fund their own anti-ballistic missile system.
How did the Star Wars initiative affect the Soviet Union?
The Soviet Union quickly identified ways to avoid a technological arms race with the United States and focused on development of advanced missiles and anti-satellite systems to counter missile defenses. Some of these programs have been preserved to the current day.
Why do you think the Strategic Defense Initiative was controversial?
Strategic Defense Initiative Development Critics of the SDI plan argued that SDI would take the arms race to space, since this could potentially elicit a Soviet response to place their own weapons in space. It called for putting lasers in space that would recognize a nuclear threat and neutralize that threat.
Why did the Strategic Defense Initiative fail?
“The practical objection to SDI was that it was too expensive and not technologically feasible. The theoretical opposition to it was that it might ignite an arms race, though this does not make sense because there already was one.”
How did the Cold War end and why did it end this way?
During 1989 and 1990, the Berlin Wall came down, borders opened, and free elections ousted Communist regimes everywhere in eastern Europe. In late 1991 the Soviet Union itself dissolved into its component republics. With stunning speed, the Iron Curtain was lifted and the Cold War came to an end.
What was one major outcome of the Cold War?
With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the annulment of the Warsaw Pact, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was officially terminated, particularly in the deployment of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles and defensive systems.
Which led to an increase in Cold War tensions between the US and the USSR in 1983?
Tensions increased when the U.S. announced they would deploy Pershing II missiles in West Germany, followed by Reagan's announcement of the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative and were further exacerbated in 1983 when Reagan branded the Soviet Union an "evil empire".
Why do you think the Strategic Defense Initiative was controversial quizlet?
Why do you think the Strategic Defense Initiative was controversial? SDI was controversial because of how expensive it was and the fact that it was never successful.
When was the Strategic Defense Initiative?
On March 23, 1983 in a televised address to the nation, U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete.
Was the Strategic Defense Initiative a failure?
SDI failed to dissuade the USSR from investing in development of ballistic missiles. The Soviet response to the SDI during the period of March 1983 through November 1985 provided indications of their view of the program both as a threat and as an opportunity to weaken NATO.
How did the arms race and the US Strategic Defense Initiative affect the Soviet Union?
SDI also failed to dissuade the Soviet Union from investing in development of ballistic missiles. The Soviet Union quickly identified ways to avoid a technological arms race with the United States and focused on development of advanced missiles and anti-satellite systems to counter missile defenses.
How much did the Strategic Defense Initiative cost?
In June 1987 the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) esti- mated that the Phase I Strategic Defense System would cost between $76.6 billion and $146.7 billion.
What is Star Wars in the context of arms race between USA and Soviet Union?
Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), byname Star Wars, proposed U.S. strategic defensive system against potential nuclear attacks—as originally conceived, from the Soviet Union. The SDI was first proposed by President Ronald Reagan in a nationwide television address on March 23, 1983.
What was President Ronald Reagan's foreign policy towards the Soviet Union?
The Reagan administration implemented a new policy towards the Soviet Union through NSDD-32 (National Security Decisions Directive) to confront the USSR on three fronts: to decrease Soviet access to high technology and diminish their resources, including depressing the value of Soviet commodities on the world market; ...
Why did the Soviet Union collapse?
Gorbachev's decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
What was the primary goal of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan?
The aim of the Soviet operation was to prop up their new but faltering client state, now headed by Banner leader Babrak Karmal, but Karmal was unable to attain significant popular support. Backed by the United States, the mujahideen rebellion grew, spreading to all parts of the country.
Why was the Strategic Defense Initiative so popular?
It appealed both to the desire for security against nuclear war and to the belief in the superiority of American technological achievements. Political scientist Kerry L. Hunter explained this phenomenon:
What was the goal of the Strategic Defense Initiative?
During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan initiated the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), an anti-ballistic missile program that was designed to shoot down nuclear missiles in space. Otherwise known as “Star Wars,” SDI sought to create a space-based shield that would render nuclear missiles obsolete.
Why was SDI not a violation of ABM?
Two days after announcing SDI, Reagan signed NSDD 85, which authorized “the development of an intensive effort to define a long term research and development program aimed at an ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by nuclear ballistic missiles,” but “in a manner consistent with our obligations under the ABM Treaty and recognizing the need for close consultations with our allies.” According to the Reagan administration, SDI was not a violation of ABM because it was only pursuing research and development, not deployment. As Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger explained, “The fact is, deployment will not occur unless a defensive system is developed that would better contribute in better ways to deterrence than the arrangement which now keeps the peace, as it has for nearly 40 years” (O’Connell 77).
What did Reagan do to help the Soviet Union?
After his election in 1980, President Reagan demonstrated a continued interest in anti-ballistic missile technology from the early stages of his administration. In early 1981, he signed National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 12, which included the creation of a “vigorous research and development program on ballistic missile defense systems.” Reagan also adopted tough anti-Soviet rhetoric and policy, a stark contrast to the decade of détente which preceded him. Three weeks before the announcement of SDI, Reagan gave his famous “evil empire” speech, which branded the Soviet Union as the unequivocal enemy of the United States. An anti-ballistic missile system—one which would give the United States complete protection from the Soviet Union—was the natural next step.
What was Reagan's anti-Soviet rhetoric?
Reagan also adopted tough anti-Soviet rhetoric and policy, a stark contrast to the decade of détente which preceded him. Three weeks before the announcement of SDI, Reagan gave his famous “evil empire” speech, which branded the Soviet Union as the unequivocal enemy of the United States.
Was Reagan invested in SDI?
Although Reagan was sincerely invested in SDI for the purpose s of national security and never intended for it to be a bargaining chip, many of his advisors acknowledged its potential as a negotiating tool. Despite his concerns about the shortcomings of SDI as a legitimate system of defense, Shultz recalled saying at the time, “The Soviets will assume that we are on the verge of some special technical innovation. Maybe that is the greatest benefit” (251).
Where did SDI originate?
The Origins of SDI. Caption: Edward Teller. Reagan’s interest in anti-ballistic missile technology dated back to 1967 when, as governor of California, he paid a visit to physicist Edward Teller at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Reagan reportedly was very taken by Teller’s briefing on directed-energy weapons (DEWs), ...
Answer
What impact did the Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars,” have on the Cold War?
New questions in History
WILL GIVE BRAINLIEST Which of the following was a consequence of the northward migration of African Americans during the First World War? Group of ans … wer choices The South suffered severe economic dislocation. Segregation was eliminated in the North. African Americans sought and gained appointment o high political positions.
Why did Reagan's Star Wars defense plan read like science fiction?
It was a plan that read like science fiction: A system armed with an array of space-based X-ray lasers would detect and deflect any nukes headed toward ...
When did Reagan announce SDI?
When Reagan first announced SDI on March 23, 1983 , he called upon the U.S. scientists who “gave us nuclear weapons to turn their great talents to the cause of mankind and world peace: to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.”.
What did Houghton say about SDI?
Houghton says scientists and engineers continue to say that if they had the necessary funding, they could have made the technology happen. But he calls that argument problematic, pointing to a 1987 study by the American Physical Society, which brought together some of the nation’s top scientific minds to take measure of all of the systems then under development. The study focused on the technical challenges of SDI, including developing high intensity lasers and particle beams.
Is SDI dangerous?
Despite criticisms from politicians, many scientists and others that the SDI was impractical, expensive and dangerous, the concept was developed during a frightening era.
Was SDI overambitious?
From the start, politicians and scientists argued that SDI was overambitious. The technical hurdles required to achieve SDI (which included a number of proposed designs and weapons—not just space-based lasers) seemed so incredible at the time that Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy referred to it as '' reckless 'Star Wars' schemes .''.
When did Star Wars get scrapped?
It was formally scrapped by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Did Ronald Reagan want nuclear weapons?
Vince Houghton, historian/curator at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., says he believes Reagan “truly despised nuclear weapons, and especially despised the threat they posed to the security of the United States. As much as people love to give him grief for what would end up being a trillion-dollar quagmire, or accuse him of wanting Star Wars so that the United States could have a legitimate advantage over the Soviets in a nuclear war, Reagan seemed to truly believe that ballistic missile defense could finally release us from the perpetual, enduring, soul-crushing threat of Armageddon.”
What was the strategic defense initiative?
The Strategic Defense Initiative was a U.S. missile defense program that played a very prominent role in the U.S.–Soviet relationships in the 1980s and is often credited with helping end the Cold War, as it presented the Soviet Union with a technological challenge that it could not meet.
Which missile design bureau did not have a combat ICBM system under development at the time?
It should be noted that NPO Mashinostroyeniya, the design bureau that built UR-100/SS-11 and UR-100N/SS-19 missiles, was the only missile design bureau that did not have a combat ICBM system under development at the time. The Albatros program was the way to get one.
When was the Protivodeytsviye program approved?
The “Protivodeytsviye” program was approved on 8 August 1987. “Memo on START negotiations,” Kataev Archive, Box 1. 65. The other two ministries that took part in the “SP-2000” program were the Ministry of Aviation Industry and the Ministry of Defense Industry. Kataev Archive, Box 8, Doc. 13.8, 68.
When did the Soviet Union stop developing lasers?
In the 1970s, the Soviet Union carried an extensive program of development of high-power lasers for missile defense applications. The program, known as Terra-3, was terminated in 1978 after it failed to demonstrate the performance required for warhead intercept. P.
Was SDI a decisive factor in advancing arms control negotiations?
The evidence suggests that although the Soviet Union expressed serious concerns about U.S. missile defense program, SDI was not a decisive factor in advancing arms control negotiations. Instead, the program seriously complicated U.S.–Soviet arms control process. SDI also failed to dissuade the Soviet Union from investing in development ...
Did the Soviet Union agree to the military format?
The Soviet Union, however, did not agree to this format. Ibid., 477. The offer to discuss “defensive and offensive forces and what has been called the militarization of space” was then repeated in Reagan's address to the United Nations on 24 September 1984.
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The Origins of SDI
The Announcement
Reaction in The West
- The announcement of SDI shocked officials around the globe. To many, it was as unexpected as it was provocative. As Secretary of State Schultz explained, “Prior to the president’s speech, even the possibility that the United States might seriously seek to defend itself from nuclear attack seemed outlandish. After President Reagan’s speech, what had seemed ‘outlandish’ became the …
Development
- Two days after announcing SDI, Reagan signed NSDD 85, which authorized “the development of an intensive effort to define a long term research and development program aimed at an ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by nuclear ballistic missiles,” but “in a manner consistent with our obligations under the ABM Treaty and recognizing the need for close consultations with our …
SDI as Propaganda
- The Strategic Defense Initiative was ultimately most effective not as an anti-ballistic missile defense system, but as a propaganda tool which could put military and economic pressure on the Soviet Union to fund their own anti-ballistic missile system. This possibility was particularly significant because, during the 1980s, the Soviet economy was t...
Arms Control Negotiations
- The Strategic Defense Initiative became a key negotiating point in a series of meetings between Reagan and Gorbachev: the Geneva Summit (1985), the Reykjavik Summit (1986), the Washington Summit (1987), and the Moscow Summit (1988). These negotiations culminated in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which went into effect in 1988, and laid the gro…
Legacy
- In 2001, President George W. Bush announced his administration’s plan to withdraw from the ABM Treaty within six months. “A number of [rogue] states are acquiring increasingly longer-range ballistic missiles as instruments of blackmail and coercion against the United States and its friends and allies,” read an official statement. “The United States must defend its homeland, its f…