“. . . riveting and disturbing . . .”
—Sir Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

OAKLAND, Calif., Jan. 11, 2008—Is military conflict in space inevitable? Has former president Eisenhower’s vision of keeping space peaceful become outdated? How can the United States secure its space interests and assets without provoking international violence?

To address the issue of U.S. military ambitions in space and to celebrate the release of Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance (March 3, 2008 / The Independent Institute / $24.95), the Independent Institute has launched a multi-city author tour for Research Fellow Mike Moore, the former editor of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Bound by a treaty written and signed forty years ago, every space-faring nation—save the U.S. and Israel—has gone on record in favor of a new agreement. A new Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) treaty could address changes in the post-Cold War world as well as modern satellite and weapons technologies that the 1967 treaty could not anticipate.

But in the grand tradition of American exceptionalism, Washington has largely avoided the issue. The administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have blocked negotiations, citing potential threats to U.S. “rights, capabilities, and freedom of action.” Self-proclaimed “space warriors” even argue that U.S. military dominance in orbital space will be the only guarantee for international peace in the future.

In Twilight War, Moore argues that the U.S. merely provokes conflict when it presumes to be the exception to the rule. “Unilateral military actions in space will not guarantee American security; they will guarantee conflict, and possibly, a new cold war,” Moore concludes.

Praise for Twilight War

". . . a tour de force . . .”
—Theresa Hitchens, Director, Center for Defense Information

“Moore’s gripping and masterful account of war and law in space should be required reading.”
—John C. Polanyi, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, University of Toronto

“Twilight War is an exceptional work, intellectually honest and refreshing. The research is solid and the inferences made from it are fully supportable. Twilight War will quickly become must-read in the field.”
—Everett C. Dolman, Professor of Comparative Military Studies, Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, author of Astropolitik: Classical Geopolitics in the Space Age

Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance
By Mike Moore
Published by The Independent Institute
March 3, 2008 | Hardcover | 416 pages | $24.95 | ISBN 978-1-59813-018-8

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