ISSUE AREAS:

CONFERENCE

Missile Defence - Threats, Responses and Projections

University of Bradford - Thursday 18 March 2004

Co-hosted by British American Security Information Council (BASIC)
and Bradford Department of Peace Studies

BASIC and Bradford Department of Peace Studies co-hosted a Missile Defence Conference - 'Threats, Responses and Projections' - on Thursday 18 March 2004 at Bradford University. Fylingdales radar station and Menwith Hill listening station are both located in the Yorkshire region and will play a significant role in US plans for missile defense. The conference was followed by an open 'Question Time' public meeting in Bradford.

Summaries of Conference Presentations

Some presentations are in pdf format, which requires Abobe Acrobat Reader to view.

• 'The Role of Missile Defence in US Strategic Thinking'
  Keynote address by Professor Paul Rogers, Bradford University.
  
  
• Panel 1 'Assessment of the Perceived Threat'
  • Missile Defence from Cold War to Hot Peace - Dr Jeremy Stocker, Senior Principal, Centre for Defence & International Security Studies and Research Associate, Royal United Services Institute.
  • WMD capabilities of 'states of concern' - Charles Peña, Director of Defense Policy Studies, CATO Institute, Washington DC.
  • Proliferation of long, medium and short range delivery systems (pdf) - Dr Mark Smith, Mountbatten Centre, Southampton University.
    
    
• Panel 2 'Practical Assessment of the Response'
  • The Bush Administration and the MDA - Victoria Samson, Research Analyst, Center for Defense Information, Washington DC.
  • The UK Government and the MoD - Dr Michael Rance, BMD Associates and former MoD official (presentation not yet available).
  • Europe's role in MD (pdf) - Dr. Gotz Neuneck, Hamburg Peace Research Institute and International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation.
    
    
• Panel 3 'Space: 'Prudent planning or Full Spectrum Dominance?'
  • Weaponisation of Space as a Policy Objective & Implications - Rebecca Johnson, Director, ACRONYM Institute (presentation not yet available).
  • Space Programmes and their Technical Feasibility (pdf) - Professor Dave Webb, School of Engineering, Leeds Metropolitan University.
  • Thinking around Missile Defense (pdf) - Dr Philip Webber, Chair of Scientists for Global Responsiblity and Arms & arms control coordinator.
    
    
• 'Time for a Big Conversation on Missile Defence?'
  Concluding remarks by Dr. Ian Davis, Director BASIC.

The evening public meeting in Bradford, Time for a 'Big Conversation' on Missile Defence? featured:

Charles Peña - Director of Defense Policy Studies, CATO Institute, Washington DC
Dr Michael Rance - Defence Consultant
Professor Paul Rogers - Bradford University
Dr Jeremy Stocker - Centre for Defence & International Security Studies (CDISS) and Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)