INF agreement: pluses and minuses for Western security

Journal Article · · Arms Control Today; (United States)

OSTI ID:6893637

Dean, J

All NATO governments have approved-formally at least-the prospective agreement between the United States and Soviet Union to eliminate INF missiles from Europe, and polls of European opinion indicate overwhelming support. Yet political conservatives in Europe, especially the conservative wing of Chancellor Kohl's Christian Democratic Party in Germany, have raised strong doubts about the desirability of an agreement, doubts which have been communicated to political allies in the United States. Republican presidential candidate Jack Kemp has declared his basic opposition. Other potential Republican candidates-Senator Robert Dole, former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, and evangelist Pat Robertson-have expressed reservations. Former President Nixon and former Secretary of State Kissinger have criticized the agreement, as has retiring NATO commander General Bernard Rogers. Congressional Democrats, faced by the prospect that a US-Soviet INF agreement will give important aid to the Republicans in the forthcoming presidential race, have pointed to defects in the understanding now under negotiation. These criticisms will be reflected in the ratification proceedings in the US Senate, which may be fairly dramatic for this first US-Soviet arms control agreement in nearly a decade. The author examines these concerns in detail.

• OSTI ID: 6893637
• Journal Information: Arms Control Today; (United States), Journal Name: Arms Control Today; (United States) Vol. 17:6; ISSN ACOTE
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350101* -- Arms Control-- Policy
Negotiations
& Legislation-- Treaties-- (1987-)
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450202 -- Explosions & Explosives-- Nuclear-- Weaponry-- (-1989)
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
AGREEMENTS
ARMS CONTROL
ASIA
EASTERN EUROPE
EUROPE
EVALUATION
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATO
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
POLITICAL ASPECTS
USA
USSR
WEAPONS