Overview

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) poses the single greatest threat to the national security of the United States. As Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has noted, The greatest threat to our society at the moment are the weapons of mass destruction. Those are the weapons that know no boundaries. Yet efforts to stem the spread of these weapons suffered serious setbacks during the past year. Every week brought news of Iranian and North Korean missile tests; of the possible terrorist use of deadly biological and chemical agents; and, most dramatically, of nuclear tests in the deserts and mountains of South Asia. There has never been a better time for a new, comprehensive review of the troubled state of the international non-proliferation regime along with credible solutions for today's most pressing proliferation problems. Repairing the Regime, is just such a book. In early 1999, 450 experts from 17 nations attended the Carnegie International Non-Proliferation Conference in Washington DC, the most important annual gathering in the non-proliferation field. This collection reflects their passionate debates on the key issues, trends, and dilemmas facing all of us today. It provides strong arguments for both marshaling international resources to repair and sustain the global non-proliferation regime and for dealing concretely with the particular security concerns of the nations and regions most affected by contemporary threats. Repairing the Regime looks at a multitude of strategies for strengthening controls on WMD and increasing security around the world.