September 8, 1972
Page 29833
INTERIM AGREEMENT ON LIMITATION OF STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE WEAPONS – AMENDMENTS
AMENDMENTS NOS. 1498 AND 1499
(Ordered to be printed and to lie on the table.)
Mr. MUSKIE. I am, for myself and Senators CRANSTON, HART, STEVENSON, and SYMINGTON, submitting two amendments to the Jackson amendment (No. 1406) to Senate Joint Resolution 241, the interim agreement on offensive weapons systems.
The operative clause of the Jackson amendment reads as follows:
The Congress recognizes the principle of United States-Soviet equality reflected in the antiballistic missile treaty, and urges and requests the President to seek a future treaty that, inter alia, would not limit the United States to levels of intercontinental strategic forces inferior to the limits provided for the Soviet Union.
As Senator JACKSON has explained, "levels of intercontinental strategic forces" refers to numbers of ICBM's, SLBM's, and intercontinental bombers, taking into account the total payload throw-weight-capabilities of such forces.
While these are vital elements of the overall strategic balance, they are by no means the only factor that must be taken into account in measuring the relative strength of the United States and the Soviet Union. There are many other vital factors such as numbers of warheads, accuracy, megatonnage, survivability, deployment, technical reliability, geographic factors, and the overall quality of weapons systems that must be considered in any measure of the nuclear balance of power.
I believe that the objective of our policy in future arms control negotiations must be to stabilize the arms race on the basis of equality in the deterrent capabilities of the United States and the Soviet Union. It is only on such a basis that both powers will feel sufficiently secure to refrain from further strategic arms build-ups. I cannot imagine a more important goal of U.S. policy than the achievement of this kind of equilibrium that preserves our security, guarantees the sufficiency of our defense, and frees us from the dangers and debilitating expense of a spiraling arms race.
The purpose of each of my amendments is to urge the President to seek a future treaty that preserves an overall equality, taking into account all relevant factors that make up the strategic balance. It may well be that our negotiators will want to propose general numerical parities either overall or in particular categories of strategic weapons systems, but I do not believe we should prejudge the negotiations and require them to do so. Rather than placing our negotiators in a sort of straitjacket during the next round of negotiations, I believe we should advise them only on the objective of achieving overall equality in U.S.-Soviet deterrent capabilities and allow them flexibility in identifying the means which will best achieve that objective. Such flexibility, after all, permitted negotiation of the interim agreement which clearly serves our interests and preserves an overall equality during the period of the agreement even though it does not provide for numerical equivalents.
My amendments would therefore strike the language of the Jackson amendment which reads "not limit the United States to levels of intercontinental strategic forces inferior to the limits provided for the Soviet Union," and replace this phrase with language that urges the maintenance of an overall equality. I have introduced two amendments with the same purpose – a short, simple amendment and a longer one which sets out the factors that could be considered in measuring the strategic balance. The second amendment is an elaboration of the first. I ask unanimous consent that these two amendments be printed in the RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the amendments were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
AMENDMENT No. 1498
On page 2, line 12, strike out the word "not" and language following up to and including the word "Union" on page 2, line 14, and insert in lieu thereof: "maintain an overall equality between the United States and the Soviet Union in nuclear strength and guarantee the sufficiency of U.S. defense".
AMENDMENT No. 1499
On page 2; line 12, strike out the word "not" and language following up to and including the Word "Union" on page 2, line 14, and insert in lieu thereof: "maintain an overall equality between the United States and the Soviet Union in nuclear strength, taking into account such components as numbers of delivery vehicles, numbers of deliverable warheads, accuracy, throw-weight, gross and equivalent megatonnage, technical reliability, geography, deployment. survivability, overall quality of weapons systems, and other factors, recognizing that inequalities in individual components of the nuclear balance are acceptable providing that the overall balance of nuclear power is preserved".