79-10-A2
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Sen. Jackson on SALT II[edit]
Transcript[edit]When historians look back at the debate over SALT II, I suspect a certain speech by Senator Henry Jackson will be among the most quoted documents. The speech I am referring to is the Senator's address on SALT II to a Democratic political group in June, in which he compared American policy towards the Soviet Union today to Great Britain's policy of "appeasement" towards Hitler's Germany in the 1930's. Jackson's continued references to American appeasement of the Soviets in his speech shocked the administration and many of the Senator's Democratic colleagues in Congress. The news media provided extensive coverage of Jackson's speech; and it has been analyzed and discussed ever since. It was not Senator Jackson's hard-line, anti-Soviet position that surprised his colleagues. Jackson has never hedged on his advocacy of a strong posture vis-a-vis the Soviet Union. What caught the Washington political establishment off guard was the ferocity of Jackson's attack on the current direction of American foreign policy and on the SALT II agreements. Jackson's speech may be the most vivid illustration since the days of the Vietnam war of the deep division of opinion among recognized experts within our foreign policy establishment. The fact that this particular speech was made by Senator Jackson, a loyal Democrat, also provides a dramatic reminder to many Democrats that the spectrum of foreign policy thought within their own party is wider than they had imagined. In addition to Senator Jackson's remarks on appeasement, his speech also contained a thoughtful analysis of recent U.S.-Soviet relations. Jackson views the history of those relations since the Moscow summit of 1972 as the testing of a proposition that "despite the lessons of history, it is possible to achieve accomodation with a totalitarian superpower through negotiated agreements." It has been the testing of this idealistic proposition that has motivated three national administrations - two Republican and one Democratic - not only to continue the process of arms talks, but also to agree on exchanges of science and technology, medicine, art and education - in short, "detente." What are the results of our seven-year trial with this proposition? Senator Jackson's tally sheet does not provide an encouraging picture. Jackson is careful to explain that a policy of "detente" with the Russians is not, in itself, "appeasement." He said "Diplomatic accomodation becomes appeasement when we make concessions rut of a fear that the Soviets will cause trouble around the world unless we yield to their desires." The Senator is particularly disturbed by what he sees as efforts within our government to silence officials who may have honest criticism about aspects of our policies towards the Russians. So am I. In my next broadcast, I'll tell you about one example of a Commerce department official who is now in hot water for blowing the whistle on the Russians. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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