78-04-A6

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Salt II

Transcript A California Congressman, Charles Wilson of California, a Democrat has spoken out publicly of his concern about the SALT II treaty being drawn up in Geneva, Switzerland. This of course puts him at odds with the administration. The Congressman visited Geneva in December and observed the negotiators in action. Upon his return he bluntly declared that the treaty now being drawn up threatens our national security. He pointed out that the Soviets will be allowed two or three times as many nuclear warheads as the United States and their warheads far exceed ours in power. Another hard-to-understand clause provides that the Russian's Backfire bomber which can carry cruise missiles is not covered by the treaty. But the United States FB-111 and our B-52's or any other aircraft equipped to carry long-range missiles must be counted against the total delivery systems allowed us under the treaty. Congressman Wilson said--QUOTE--"SALT II is an arms control agreement in name only. It would guarantee the Soviet Union strategic superiority for the remainder of this century while doing nothing for United States national security." UNQUOTE--. He was equally forthright in declaring that our negotiators seemed more interested in helping Jimmy Carter redeem a campaign promise to come up with a treaty than in protecting American interests. He described the Soviet team as made up of tough negotiators who've been doing this same job since 1969 when SALT I was created. By contract, our team has only two members with previous experience in any kind of Soviet negotiations. He described our team as wanting a treaty simply for the sake of having a treaty. Our concessions deal with Soviet weapon systems already operative. When the Soviets concede at all it is usually with regard to some weapons system we don't have yet. Then there is the matter of verification. Yes, our reconnaissance satellites can keep a reasonable count on how many missiles the Soviets have on hand, but there is no way without on-site inspection (which the Russians will never agree to) to verify whether the Soviets are indeed complying with the treaty. Satellites cannot tell us whether the treaty is being violated with regard to new guidance systems, or how many warheads each missile contains. Summing it up, Congressman Wilson says the SALT II treaty the administration is willing to accept is not in our national interest. --QUOTE--"In view of a withering bomber force which will decline in capability during the period, a highly vulnerable ICBM force, with the Trident and Cruise missile programs in doubt within our own government no treaty would be preferable to an instrument which would guarantee Soviet strategic superiority for the remainder of the century". --UNQUOTE-- So says a Democratic Congressman who has been listening in on the SALT II talks. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 78-04-A6 Production Date 03/13/1978 Book/Page RihoH-77 Audio Youtube? No
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