Word: inf
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...overall effect on the balance of terror, however, would still be modest, making it little more than a first step toward more important goals that lie ahead. An INF agreement would take out of service less than 4% of the warheads the two sides have arrayed against each other. It would not apply to any of the 11,000 Soviet long-range warheads targeted against the continental U.S. Nor is there anything in the fine print of the prospective deal that would prevent the Soviets from replacing every two-stage intermediate-range SS-20 they dismantle with a three-stage...
Sometimes the Soviets have insisted on linking the various negotiations: no INF deal without a strategic offense-defense trade-off. At other times they have appeared willing not to link the issues, letting Reagan have an agreement and a summit without his having to make any concessions on SDI. Their current position is ambiguous -- and therefore flexible. Currently they are proposing an "INF-plus" summit. The plus would be a "framework agreement" on START and SDI -- not a full treaty, but an outline of its main provisions, notably including testing limits...
...often in the past, the Reagan Administration is split between the Pentagon and the State Department. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger opposes any significant compromise on any aspect of SDI, including deployment. Colleagues say he favors an INF-only deal as a "firebreak" that will satisfy congressional yearning for arms control while leaving SDI intact. Paul Nitze, special adviser to Shultz and Reagan on arms control, is concerned that an INF-only deal could lead to a Soviet strategic buildup if there is no progress in START. The only way to break the deadlock in START, he feels...
Earlier in the week U.S. negotiators in Geneva had taken an equally important step to sweep away the other stubborn sticking point in the INF talks: they eased their demands for stiff on-site inspection checks to ensure compliance with a treaty. The turnaround was extraordinary for Reagan. It has long been an article of faith for conservatives, the President foremost among them, that any agreement should include the strictest possible verification procedures. Before entering the White House, Reagan attacked Jimmy Carter's unratified 1979 SALT II treaty for lacking adequate verification guarantees...
...INF agreement were settled, the United States' only option for shielding the continent from Soviet coercion would be a rapid buildup in conventional forces. However ideal, this option would be impractical considering the country's already strained fiscal resources. Nuclear weapons just happen to be cheap, and increasing our expensive conventional armies would wreak havoc on the budget deficit...