Looking Back - Cold War Goes Into Space
On this day in 1983 US President, Ronald Reagan, unveiled plans to combat nuclear war in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) proposed a defensive shield using laser or particle beam technology to intercept and destroy incoming missiles as they travel through the stars. In a televised address from the White House the US leader said "We seek neither military superiority nor political advantage. Our only purpose - one all people share - is to search for ways to avert the danger of nuclear war." The Democrats in the US - and even some Republicans - claimed Reagan's initiative was an expensive and unfeasible diversion from his administration's domestic failures. Reagan's SDI became known as "Star Wars" - after the George Lucas film. SDI signalled a new round in the Arms Race and a worsening of the relationship between the US and the USSR. President Andropov of the USSR was highly critical of the plan, saying it violated the 1972 ABM Treaty and there was little difference between building up weapons for purportedly defensive or offensive purposes. SDI was abandoned in 1993 and the department was renamed the Ballistic Missile Defence organisation.
On this day in 1983 US President, Ronald Reagan, unveiled plans to combat nuclear war in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) proposed a defensive shield using laser or particle beam technology to intercept and destroy incoming missiles as they travel through the stars. In a televised address from the White House the US leader said "We seek neither military superiority nor political advantage. Our only purpose - one all people share - is to search for ways to avert the danger of nuclear war." The Democrats in the US - and even some Republicans - claimed Reagan's initiative was an expensive and unfeasible diversion from his administration's domestic failures. Reagan's SDI became known as "Star Wars" - after the George Lucas film. SDI signalled a new round in the Arms Race and a worsening of the relationship between the US and the USSR. President Andropov of the USSR was highly critical of the plan, saying it violated the 1972 ABM Treaty and there was little difference between building up weapons for purportedly defensive or offensive purposes. SDI was abandoned in 1993 and the department was renamed the Ballistic Missile Defence organisation.
