Word: arbatov
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...Arbatov and Oltmans discuss a wide variety of issues, including the history of U.S. Soviet relations since the Revolution in 1917, popular Soviet perceptions of America and dealings with other nations. But the focus of their talks is the deterioration of détente what emerges is more than a little disturbing for the American reader because the Soviet viewpoint is often strikingly logical...
Most international relations experts in the West attribute the collapse of defense to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in early 1980 Arbatov though sees a significant shirt in the U.S. attitude towards the USSR as early as 1978. He points to the NATO decision to increase military budget annually for 15 years. Carter's "five-year plan" for arms spending, and the NATO move to build and deploy new medium-range American missiles in Europe as actions detrimental to détente All pre-dated Afghanistan...
What makes Arbatov's point all the more interesting is his analysis of why the United States began to return to a hard line. Arbatov believes that a feeling of impotence overtook American policy makers when the USSR reached military parity with the U.S. This feeling was exacerbated when the U.S. economy started to sour and events in Iran proved American night had become less effective in resolving conflicts. With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Americans showed that they longed for the past, that "the mood of nostalgia for the 'American Century' was quite strong...
Here and elsewhere, Arbatov's arguments about Soviet perceptions carry as much legitimacy as the anti-Soviet views put forth in the West. A few examples are worth citing. The arms race, Arbatov claims, has been fueled by the United States from the start, with the Soviets simply playing catch-up He writes...
...similar vein Arbatov argues that the Soviet SS 20 threat is pure propaganda, whereas the Soviet have reason to be concerned in reality about the deployment later this year of Cruse and Pershing II missiles in Western Europe. The SS 20, Arbatov believes are not in essence different from the weapons they replaced (the SS-4 and SS-5) because they do not have the capability of reaching the United States--SS-20 remains a theater weapon usably, only in Europe. The Pershings and Cruise missiles though are clearly superior to their prerectly From the Soviet viewpoint, this is clearcut...