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On the eve of the Reagan-Gorbachev Summit, an open letter on “Western Interests and the Arms Talks” appeared in the Washington Post. Co-signed by over seventy distinguished European writers, academics, politicians, and retired members of the military—including General Sir John Hackett, Ambassador Jean Laloy, Vladimir Bukovsky, and Jean-Marie Benoist —the letter voiced the concern that an INF agreement not linked to substantial reductions in the Soviet Union’s conventional-and chemical-warfare arsenals would jeopardize the safety of the West:

Far from enhancing Western security we believe it would shift the military balance in favor of the Warsaw Pact, assisting the cause of the Soviet Union in seeking to induce political changes in the West favorable to its interests. At the same time the proposed accord would diminish any incentive for the Soviet Union to make fundamental changes to its domestic and foreign policies. . . .

WL

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Wayne Lutton

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On the eve of the Reagan-Gorbachev Summit, an open letter on “Western Interests and the Arms Talks” appeared in the Washington Post. Co-signed by over seventy distinguished European writers, academics, politicians, and retired members of the military—including General Sir John Hackett, Ambassador Jean Laloy, Vladimir Bukovsky, and Jean-Marie Benoist —the letter voiced the concern that an INF agreement not linked to substantial reductions in the Soviet Union’s conventional-and chemical-warfare arsenals would jeopardize the safety of the West:

Far from enhancing Western security we believe it would shift the military balance in favor of the Warsaw Pact, assisting the cause of the Soviet Union in seeking to induce political changes in the West favorable to its interests. At the same time the proposed accord would diminish any incentive for the Soviet Union to make fundamental changes to its domestic and foreign policies. . . .