Much has been said and written about the failure of U.S. intelligence to prevent the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and its overestimation of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction under Saddam Hussein. This book focuses instead on the central role that intelligence-collection systems play in promoting arms control and disarmament.
Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. and Keith Hansen bring more than fifty combined years of experience to this discussion of the capabilities of technical systems, which are primarily based in space. Their history of the rapid advancement of surveillance technology is a window into a dramatic reconceptualization of Cold War strategies and policy planning. Graham and Hansen focus on the intelligence successes against Soviet strategic nuclear forces and the quality of the intelligence that has made possible accurate assessments of WMD programs in North Korea, Iran, and Libya. Their important insights shed a much-needed light on the process of verifying how the world harnesses the proliferation of nuclear arms and the continual drive for advancements in technology.
Table of Contents:
Foreword by Robert M. Huffstutler
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. To Verity or Not to Verify
2. Soviet Secrecy Fuels the Arms Race and Inhibits Verification
3. U.S. Efforts to Understand Soviet Military Forces and Capabilities
4. Strategic Arms Control Legitimizes Space-Based Reconnaissance
5. Intelligence Support to Arms Control Activities
6. National Technical Means of Verification Takes Center Stage
7. "National Technical Means" Goes Multilateral
8. Monitoring the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
9. Conclusion
Postscript
Appendixes
A. Glossary of Acronyms and Terms
B. Texts of NTM Provisions in Arms Control Agreements
C. Chronology of Key U.S. Reconnaissance Capabilities
D. U.S. Atomic Energy Detection System (USAEDS)
E. CTBT International Monitoring System
F. U.S. Intelligence Community
Notes
Bibliography
About the Authors
Index
About the Author :
Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr. is chairman of the Cypress Fund for Peace and Security in Washington, D.C. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency for fifteen years and was President Clinton's special assistant for arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament. Keith Hansen is consulting professor in international relations at Stanford University and has spent thirty-five years in US national security deliberations and strategic nuclear arms control negotiations.
Review :
"This very readable and comprehensive primer..will appeal to the general reader while offering important insights for students of the larger history of the Cold War as well..Graham and Hansen have made a contribution that every reader should consider."
"The adage that 'good things come in small packages' certainly holds true for this book. At first glance, some readers might question whether so slender a volume has substantial value. Within the first dozen pages, however, most will recognize they are holding a real nugget."
"The big topic of this little book naturally raises a host of questions."
"For those wishing to know how National Technical Means contributed to the end of the Cold War and to learn about the demands placed on them by the war against terror, Spy Satellites is an excellent place to start."
