A Question of Defense: How American Allies are Responding to the US Missile Defense Program

The US decision to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in June 2002 was a watershed development in international politics. Deciding that the threat from rogue states outweighed concerns about how Russia (and the larger international community) would respond, the Bush administration revealed that in the post-September 11 environment, it was not prepared to give other states an effective veto over US security policy. However, the announcement had enormous repercussions for allies as well as adversaries. This paper will examine how two close US allies—Canada and the UK—have reacted to the missile defense program. It will demonstrate that, while both have moved progressively closer to formal participation, the two countries have resisted making specific commitments because of political considerations. With initial deployment of the missile shield scheduled for later this year, the paper reveals that the US can expect allies to continue to react with caution, but that wariness should not necessarily be confused with opposition and/or defiance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]