Word: icbms
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Administration was still a long way from having a proposal to go with the word. Not until early 1982, when the White House became concerned about the growing nuclear arms freeze movement and congressional opposition to the MX-a longstanding program to develop a new, large, ten-warhead ICBM-did the Administration buckle down to serious, high-level consideration of its options for START. By then, Allen had been replaced as National Security Adviser by Deputy Secretary of State William Clark, and Clark had brought with him from the State Department Robert McFarlane to help run the NSC staff...
...result, American ICBMs are smaller and less numerous than the Soviets'. The mainstay of the U.S. ICBM force, 550 Minuteman IIIs, are classified as "light" ICBMs and have three warheads each, while the backbone of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces is made up of 308 "heavy" SS-18s, each able to carry ten warheads, and around 500 "medium" SS-17s and SS-19s, with four and six warheads respectively. The American MX, which is still under development as well as under heated debate, is about the size of the SS-19, but would have as many warheads...
...Chiefs had two reasons for wanting a low launcher ceiling. First, the fewer ICBM silos and submarine tubes the Soviets were allowed, the fewer high-priority military targets the Chiefs would have to worry about being able to hit in a nuclear...
...Soviets were being asked to reduce their ICBM warheads by more than 50%, while the U.S. was below the proposed ceiling and would be able to build...
Liberal and conservative experts alike criticized the high ratio of warheads to launchers that the proposal would produce. Each side would end up with an ICBM force made up largely of stationary multiple-warhead missiles such as the MX and SS-18. While in their silos, they would be sitting ducks, vulnerable to a pre-emptive strike; once in the air, they might be first-strike weapons. Therefore the incentive of each side to shoot first in a crisis would be increased, and the stability of the nuclear balance would be upset...