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From: orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER)
Newsgroups: net.followup,net.politics
Subject: Re: Re: US-USSR talks
Message-ID: <270@whuxl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 2-Oct-84 13:21:31 EDT
Article-I.D.: whuxl.270
Posted: Tue Oct  2 13:21:31 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Oct-84 19:57:04 EDT
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Organization: Bell Labs
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> It is not so "funny" that the Reagan administration is willing to talk to
> the Soviets because if you dump the Mondale propaganda you'll remember that
> it has been the Soviets who have bailed out of negotiations and/or placed
> preconditions. It seems the Soviets don't like it when we think for ourselves.

Let us consider what Reagan has done to encourage arms control:
1)Never supported a single arms treaty negotiated by any of his
  predecessors
2)Announced that he will break SALT II in 1985
3)initiated a program for wars in space (Star Wars) that will openly violate
  one of the major treaties still in force, namely the ABM treaty
4)made a proposal at the START talks which would lead to the Soviets 
  reducing their arms by twice the amount ours would be reduced.
  Moreover, rather than "reducing" the level of nuclear arms, his proposal
  would reduce Soviet forces while allowing the US to go full speed ahead
  with cruise missile technology and lead to an increase of 1500 warheads
  in a few years.  His proposal also did NOT include the MX missile,
  or B1 bombers--ostensibly "bargaining chips" but never offered by Reagan
  in any bargain to date
5)allowed 5 treaties to languish without approval--despite the requests of
  the Republican controlled Senate to submit 2 of these treaties for 
  ratification.
6)again and again publicly accused the Soviets of "lying and cheating" on
  past arms agreements- yet never taken a single charge before the
  Standing Consultative Committee used by past Presidents Nixon, Ford
  and Carter to resolve and STOP past suspected Soviet treaty violations.
After all these efforts we now find ourselves facing 2500 more Soviet nuclear
warheads than when Reagan came to office.
I am not about to excuse Soviet intransigence anymore than I will excuse
Reagan intransigence.  But all past Presidents have been able to accomplish
some sort of arms control--Reagan is the only President in the past 20 years
who has not.
Reagan has failed to acknowledge Soviet initiatives for arms control that
the Soviets have taken.  For over a year they had a unilateral moratorium
on the deployment of SS-20's in Europe--but Reagan's failure to offer any
reasonable negotiating position before cruise missile deployment led to
renewed SS-20 deployments.  The Soviets have also had a unilateral moratorium
on the testing and deployment of space weapons.  Again, Reagan has never
responded to this initiative.
Reagan's plans to break currently observed treaties is the worst of all-
why should anyone trust us?
Tim Sevener
whuxl!orb