Word: inf
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Treaties such as SALT have only imposed ceilings on increases in the superpower nuclear arsenals. Proposals for intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) currently on the table would eliminate an entire class of weapon systems, primarily the American Pershing IIs and the Soviet SS-20s concentrated in Central Europe. And we would be getting a bargain in the process, Administration officials argue, because the SS-20s outnumber our Pershings by more than five to one. Both Reagan and supporters of nuclear disarmament welcome an INF treaty with the Soviets...
...nation's decisionmakers should think twice before they snap up this bargain. Unfortunately, they seem to be judging its value in terms of its historical and public relations value, instead of in terms of national interest and strategic stability. To the Administration, the INF would work toward rehabilitating Reagan's image with the public and with historians, proving that his policy of negotiating from strength worked. Nor would an agreement hurt the Republican party in the upcoming presidential elections...
Although the removal of Pershings and cruise missiles would not seriously handicap NATO's nuclear strike ability, the implications of an INF treaty go beyond tactical effects. The first successful disarmament treaty--as opposed to an arms control treaty such as SALT--could easily bring about, in its wake, the negotiated elimination of other nuclear weapons in Europe such as those carried by bombers or fired by artillery. An INF treaty holds out the possibility of the "denuclearization" of Europe, which would remove the West's check on Soviet conventional superiority on the continent...
...INF treaty could also prove disruptive for the NATO alliance itself. The dispute over the West German-controlled force of older Pershing missiles already underscores this problem...
...minds of European leaders, INF could be the first indication of a renewed isolationist feeling in a United States that they have never trusted completely to keep its promise and defend them. America may decide to de-couple itself from the defense of the West--a prospect feared by foreign ministers for the last 40 years--and leave West Europeans at the mercy of the Soviet Union...