The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is deeply rooted in a peace testimony. We strive to "live in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all wars."

Our opposition to the National Missile Defense (NMD) is deeper than the logical, technical, political, strategic or scientific reasons to oppose such a program. We believe that the nation and the world can never be made safe by war, threats of war, or reliance on military methods such as NMD. On the contrary, we believe that it is through the growth of peaceful relations among countries that global security is fostered, and that such avenues are undermined by developments like the NMD. We want our country to lead the world away from a condition of armed hostility, toward a place of stability and peace. Only then can people here and in other countries begin to achieve their God-given potential.

We therefore harbor great concern with the renewed interest by both Democrats and Republicans in the development of a NMD system. The NMD is a descendant of the thoroughly discredited "Star Wars" scheme, and it is opposed by U.S. political allies in Western Europe, as well as other nuclear powers such as Russia and China. There is much evidence that this newfound enthusiasm in the NMD stems from domestic political and economic considerations rather than issues of national security. Indeed, the creation of NMD is likely to make our country, and the world, much less safe, by directly contravening the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and potentially igniting a new and frightening arms race.