Which statement best describes why President Clinton canceled development of orbital weapons?

• A. He was worried that weaponizing space would anger Moscow leading to another Cold War.
• B. He wanted to abide by the ABM treaty and the peaceful uses of space constraints established in international space law.
• C. He was an arms control advocate who wanted a treaty banning ASATs.
• D. He wanted to use the money for a new long-range bomber instead.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that Clinton’s move to cancel orbital weapons was about staying within the existing legal and treaty framework governing space and missile defense. The ABM Treaty, negotiated during the Cold War, limited how and where ballistic-missile defenses could be deployed, and pursuing weapons in orbit would threaten that regime and tempt a renewed arms race. At the same time, international space law — notably the Outer Space Treaty — calls for space to be used for peaceful purposes and restricts weapons in orbit, especially weapons of mass destruction. By canceling orbital weapons development, the administration aimed to uphold these treaties and keep space from being militarized. That’s why the option stressing adherence to the ABM Treaty and the peaceful-use constraints of space law best captures the rationale.