Word: inf
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...President has suffered one disaster after another: loss of the Senate to the Democrats; the Iran-contra debacle; increasingly bold and successful congressional opposition on everything from taxes to funding of SDI and the Nicaraguan rebels. But as the end of his presidency approaches, Reagan seems to regard the INF treaty as his legacy to history and a vindication of his whole approach to foreign policy. Says an aide: "This treaty shows the wisdom of Reagan's tough way of dealing with the Soviets...
That assessment is by no means shared by everyone in the President's own party. Among the six Republican candidates to succeed Reagan, only Vice President George Bush, ever the true-blue loyalist, has given the INF deal unqualified support. In the Senate, which must approve the agreement by a two- thirds vote if it is to take effect, a hard core of perhaps a dozen conservative Republicans is mobilizing to block ratification, and many more are dubious. One tactic they are likely to follow is proposing amendments, such as one making ratification contingent on proof that the Soviets...
...help overcome such opposition. After they were announced, Idaho Republican James McClure, who had been thought likely to help lead the fight against the treaty, left open the possibility that he might yet vote to ratify. But suspicions about possible Soviet cheating, even if they are overcome in the INF vote, could spell deep trouble for an eventual START agreement...
...next week's summit, even should it produce no immediate results beyond the INF treaty signing, could signal a turn away from the arms race toward a better relationship between the nuclear superpowers. For all their differences, Reagan's and Gorbachev's interests, and those of the countries they lead, happen to coincide for the moment. It is an opportunity that if not seized and built upon, may not soon come again...
...many Americans, "verification" may be an abstract mouthful. But for 17,000 citizens of Magna, Utah, the word's meaning will soon be as vivid as a new next-door neighbor. Under terms of the just completed INF treaty, 30 to 40 Soviet inspectors will be stationed for 13 years in this flat, dusty mining community 16 miles west of Salt Lake City. Magna is home to nine bars, some dozen churches and the Hercules Aerospace Co., which has made boosters for Pershing II missiles...