The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and its security implications for the United Kingdom and the United States
By: Luke Sironi
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 70
Description: The United Kingdom has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The United States signed the treaty in September 1996, and currently the decision on whether to ratify it is pending in the Senate. Key      differences reside in the political and objective strategic situations of the United States and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom's parliamentary system a single party (or a coalition) makes decisions. The United      States, however, was designed to have a separation of powers, and this insures that the legislative and executive branches have opportunities for discord as well as cooperation. Currently the United Kingdom has operational   weapons production facilities, whereas the United States does not. The United Kingdom has only one nuclear weapons program (the Trident missile) to maintain, whereas the United States has multiple delivery systems and      warhead types to maintain. The United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent provides for the country's security needs, yet the United Kingdom is also covered by U.S. nuclear commitments. Indeed, the United States provides xtended deterrence protection for allies and security partners around the world. These responsibilities imply that the implications of the CTBT could be more momentous for the United States than for the United Kingdom.
Notes: "December 1998."

Thesis advisor(s): David S. Yost, Scott D. Tollefson.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs) Naval Postgraduate School, December 1998.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-67)

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

Also available online.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.

US Navy (USN) author.

dk/dk cc:9116 02/10/99.