The Foreign Service Journal, May 2017

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY 2017 17 T he treaty on outer space explora- tion, completed at United Nations headquarters on Dec. 8, 1966, was in progress almost 10 years. It attests to the doggedness of men in the State Department and other agencies who stuck to their tasks despite U-2, Congo and Vietnam to produce a peace treaty for an area where there have been no wars. …The treaty also contains other original U.S. proposals, such as: outer space explora- tion shall be conducted in the interests of all countries; international law and the U.N. Charter extend into outer space; and outer space is not subject to national appro- priation. This last provision makes it impossible to lay claim to any portion of outer space, and hopefully ends any danger of colonies and colonial wars in space such as followed the exploration of the NewWorld. This interest in the international regulation of outer space was just part of the United States’ program of cooperation in space. This program, involving tracking, communications, meteorology and scientific research, today includes over 60 countries. One of the first steps, taken in mid-1958, was to separate the major part of U.S. space research from military auspices through the cre- ation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA meant that the United States could cooperate with others without fear of compromis- ing its military programs, and others could cooperate with us without fear of compro- mising their neutrality. …The U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space was an American initiative. During the days of Ambassador [Henry Cabot] Lodge in the U.N., the Soviets refused mean- ingful participation, though in recent years they have been far more con- structive. It is through the Committee that the negotiations were conducted which led to the present treaty. While much of the treaty is contained in earlier U.N. resolutions, particularly those of 1963, a treaty represents an enormous increase in commitment over resolutions, being legally as well as morally binding. This is particularly true for the Soviets who have proved far more reluctant to vio- late treaties than U.N. resolutions. The treaty contains three outstand- ing provisions, which go beyond the initial planning of the State Depart- ment and represent the treaty’s most significant contribution to peace. One provision outlaws the orbiting of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and stationing them in outer space; another forbids military bases, weapons testing and military maneuvers on celestial bodies; and the third gives signatories the right to visit each others’ facilities on the moon and other celestial bodies. …President [Lyndon] Johnson recently declared that the outer space treaty was “the most important arms control development” since the Test Ban. This was a safe statement as there virtually hasn’t been any. One wonders why progress could not have been made on a comprehensive nuclear test ban and why a nonprolif- eration treaty still eludes us. —Craig Eisendrath, Office of U.N. Political Affairs, in “The Outer Space Treaty” excerpted from the May 1967 FSJ. 50 Years Ago International Cooperation in Space tion of the White House spokesperson, the State Department spokesperson is perhaps the most important in the entire U.S. government because the State Department spokesperson is basically sending out what U.S. foreign policy is to the whole world.” —Gemma Dvorak, Associate Editor New Academic Agreements Increase Access to Education A cting Director of Office of Personnel Management Kathleen McGettigan has announced new academic agree- ments with four schools in OPM’s ongo- ing effort to expand educational benefits to federal workers. The four schools are: College for Amer- ica at Southern New Hampshire Univer- sity, Drexel University Online, George- town University School of Continuing Studies and the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. The agreements provide tuition discounts and scholarships to federal employees and, in some cases, extend the