Volume 32, Number 2 · February 14, 1985
Pie in the Sky
By Theodore H. Draper
The first negotiating position on nuclear arms put forward by the Reagan administration during its first term was the late and unlamented 'zero option.' It implied that the Soviets would destroy the intermediate nuclear weapons targeted on Europe that they had already put in place. In exchange for this the Americans would not deploy in Europe intermediate nuclear weapons targeted on the Soviet Union. Hardly anyone else, least of all the Soviets, took it seriously or as anything other than a self-evident indication that the United States was not seeking to negotiate seriously. The only reason for recalling it now is that it helps to get some perspective on the position that has been emerging.
Feature, 5797 words
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