Naval Nuclear Arms Reduction - Fixing the US Navy's Achilles' Heel
Abstract
The dramatic political changes in Eastern Europe in 1989 and Mikhail Gorbachev's continued commitment to perestroika and glasnost in the Soviet Union have raised the hopes of people everywhere that world peace may be at hand. The disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, the poor performance of the Red Army in Afghanistan. the perilous state of the Soviet economy and serious internal ethnic conflicts have drastically reduced the perceived threat which the USSR poses to NATO. As a result, many NATO members are contemplating reductions in defense budgets and military forces. West Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium have all recently announced plans for smaller forces in the near future. In the U.S. Congress and the media are today nearly unanimous in demanding reductions in defense expenditures while suggesting a variety of ways to spend the anticipated "peace dividend." President Bush appears to be vying with Gorbachev to announce bigger troop cuts in Europe and several separate arms reduction talks are in progress. At the same time, there exists the reality of the formidable strategic and conventional forces of the Soviet Union.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 12, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA437218
Entities
People
- Brendan J. O'donnell
Organizations
- National War College