SALT II ended up being helpful for the Soviet Union because it gave them a reason to focus less money on building weapons and to instead start fixing their economy and the damage it had sustained in the arms race. The US had a less optimistic opinion on these talks with Reagan saying the talks were not passed to help close the gap but rather to just get the Soviets to like the US better. What do you think? Were the SALT II talks helpful for both nations, or just one?
Friday, April 24, 2015
SALT II
From 1972 to 1979 the US and Soviet Union continued the SALT talks they had previously negotiated on. SALT II sought to curtail the manufacturing of strategic weapons and was the first nuclear arms treaty that assumed real reductions in weapon count of all categories of devices on both sides. SALT II also helped the United States discourage the Soviet Union from arming their third generation of ICBMS. However, during this time the Soviets began to experiment with a new model called the SS-20. The US gave the Soviets an ultimatum regarding these SS-20's that stated they would give the Soviets three years to negotiate with the US to find a middle ground agreement on the use and allowed number of these weapons. Yet during this time the US gave the Soviets to negotiate, the US continued to try to build up their number of weapons in the hopes of closing the missile gap.
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Was the US's initial goal from the start to discourage the USSR's use of weapons? I think it also very interesting how SALT II ending up being helpful for the USSR.
ReplyDeletethe SALT II talks were not helpful for either nation. Because Russia made a false agreement with the United States to stop missile production and reduce arms. While in the process of being ratified by the Senate of the US, the United States discovered that the Russians had missiles stationed in Cuba, and the bill was dismissed. Raegan may have been optimistic, but it was the right call not to pass this bill to protect the United States.
ReplyDeleteI think it was good that the Soviets got to start fixing their economy because the people living there were suffering. Who cares who the super power is when there are people starving in the countries.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Soviets put too much attention on arms race. When other nations are improving their economy and social welfare, the Soviets are developing newer weapons. The Soviets neglected the people's living standards causing the economy to go backwards and people had really rough times. So it is really a good thing that the Soviets get to realize they should spend more money on improving the economy and people's lives.
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