TITLE

SUCCESS LINKED TO ABM TREATY

AUTHOR(S)

Warnke, Paul C.

PUB. DATE

November 1991

SOURCE

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists;Nov1991, Vol. 47 Issue 9, p18

SOURCE TYPE

Periodical

DOC. TYPE

Article

ABSTRACT

This article links the success of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty signed in late July 1991 by Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev is the latest triumph for the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972. But in a sadly ironic twist, the completion of START coincides with a major and misguided effort to scuttle the treaty that made it possible. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty will eliminate about 50 percent of the nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles. The treaty, moreover, will put in place a framework for further reductions in offensive arsenals. The nuclear weapons reductions mandated by START and the further reductions that the treaty framework facilitates would not only increase the stability of deterrence forces in times of tension but should also alleviate concern about unauthorized or accidental launches of Soviet missiles. According to the author, there is very little chance that Soviet unrest or even disintegration of the Soviet Union would mean that some of the country's many thousands of nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of people who might be reckless enough or untutored enough to contemplate their use.

ACCESSION #

9111112163

Tags: NUCLEAR arms control -- International cooperation;  BALLISTIC missiles;  TREATIES;  NUCLEAR weapons

 

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