The SALT negotiations are not “disarmament talks.” Their subject matter is “strategic arms limitation” (SAL in the acronym, with “T” for “treaty”), and not just anybody’s strategic arms but, specifically, those belonging to the Soviet Union and the United States. “Strategic arms” are defined as continental-range nuclear weapons (or weapons systems)—that is, nuclear weapons with which the Soviet Union and the U.S. could clobber each other’s home territory.
Most sensible persons will agree that limitations on U.S.-Soviet strategic arms would be a good thing, if the limitations were “fair” to both sides. It is not easy to say just what “fair” would mean. Perhaps something of this sort: that neither side felt that acceptance of the agreed limitations would increase the overall threat from the other side. Needless to say, it is difficult to quantify that feeling in terms of specific numbers of specific weapons systems. Many millions of words, charts, and statistics have dealt with the U.S.-Soviet strategic balance and its relation to present and future SALT talks.
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