Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site aecom.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!aecom!jsanders
From: jsanders@aecom.UUCP (Jeremy Sanders)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Re: PWhat if They Threw a War...
Message-ID: <259@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 20-Nov-83 12:46:19 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.259
Posted: Sun Nov 20 12:46:19 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 22-Nov-83 00:29:13 EST
References: <3890@uiucdcs.UUCP>, <250@tty3b.UUCP>
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 26

> .... they've scared people so
> much that they can't admit it was all for nothing.

	Who is this mysterious "they" ?  The government perhaps? Which
administration? (or all of them)? The dark & dangerous military commanders?
Mike - get specific. No-one can accept as legitmate a response that puts
the blame on some nebulous & unspecified "they".

	There are some problems with the concept of "STEPS". First, if
we stop (even if only for a limited time) maintaining our "position" in the
arms race, we may fall far enough behind to preclude catching up. Second,
if we do stop, we may not psychologicaly be able to start up again. Third,
is the way that the Russians would view this. The Russian psychology is
different than ours, and they would see a move like STEPS as a demonstration
of American weakness.

	Never the less, so long as we do not halt research (taking care of
problem one), I would support such a measure because I feel that we *will*
be able to start up again, and, because even though I don't think the
Soviets would respond the way we want them to, its worth the chance when
you consider the risks. We should not, however, stop already planned
deployments (i.e. cruise & pershing II in europe); we said we'd send deploy
those and breaking our commitment on it would send exactly the wrong signal
to the Kremlin.

						Jeremy Sanders