{
  "id": "98-496",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "98-496",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101228,
      "date": "2000-04-27",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:36:55.607941",
      "title": "Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty Demarcation and Succession Agreements: Background and Issues",
      "summary": "In September 1997, the United States and Russia signed several agreements related to the 1972\nABM\nTreaty. The Clinton Administration has stated that it will submit these agreements to the Senate as\namendments to the ABM Treaty after the Russian parliament approves the START II Treaty.\n  The Memorandum of Understanding on Succession responds to questions about the legal status\nof the ABM Treaty after the demise of the Soviet Union; it names Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and\nKazakhstan as the successors to the Soviet Union for that agreement. Together, these states can\ndeploy the single ABM site permitted by the Treaty. The Clinton Administration argued that this\nMOU was not an amendment to the ABM Treaty, and, therefore, did not need the Senate's advice\nand consent. Many in Congress disagreed and the Senate compelled the Administration to submit\nthe MOU in a condition attached to another treaty's resolution of ratification. Some in Congress\nbelieve the MOU will strengthen the ABM Treaty and the arms control process. Others argue that\nthe agreement undermines U.S. interests because it preserves an outdated Treaty and will complicate\nefforts to negotiate amendments to the Treaty that may be needed for the United States to deploy a\nnationwide ballistic missile defense system.\n  The United States initiated negotiations on the Agreed Statements on Demarcation because the\nABM Treaty did not contain a precise dividing line between ABM systems, which are limited by the\nTreaty, and TMD systems, which are not. The United States wanted to develop advanced TMD\nsystems that might have some theoretical capabilities against strategic ballistic missiles, so it sought\nagreements that would ensure that these systems were not limited by the Treaty. Russia, on the other\nhand sought provisions that would limit the capabilities of U.S. TMD systems because it feared that\nthe United States might direct these systems against Russia's strategic ballistic missiles, undermining\nRussia's nuclear deterrent. The resulting agreements divide TMD systems into two categories --\nthose with interceptor velocities below 3 km/sec and those with faster interceptors. Systems with\nslower interceptors will not be limited by the Treaty as long as they are not tested against target\nmissiles with velocities above 5 km/sec and ranges above 3,500 kilometers. Systems with faster\ninterceptors also cannot be tested against such targets, and their interceptors cannot be based in\nspace, but each country must still determine for itself whether systems with faster interceptors\ncomply with the ABM Treaty. The United States and Russia also agreed to a number of confidence-\nbuilding measures and general principles that are designed to ease Russia's concerns about the\ncapabilities of U.S. TMD systems.\n  The Clinton Administration contends that these agreements will not impede the development\nof any U.S. TMD systems. But some in Congress have argued that the United States will unilaterally\nrestrain its TMD systems and restrict their deployments to avoid lengthy compliance debates with\nthe Russians. Some believe the United States should deploy whatever defenses are necessary to\ndefend U.S. territory, forces, and allies, even if it must abandon the ABM Treaty to do so.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/98-496",
          "sha1": "4eb33cd9b6d451261874afdbd43009ca370cce57",
          "filename": "files/20000427_98-496_4eb33cd9b6d451261874afdbd43009ca370cce57.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20000427_98-496_4eb33cd9b6d451261874afdbd43009ca370cce57.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}