Letter from Washington

Although some Capitol Hill hardliners are grousing about the President’s decision to stay with SALT II although it was never ratified and is due to expire in December, the Reagan Teflon is holding. Before the decision was made, one Republican senator and close friend of the President urged Mr. Reagan not to lock himself in. “Six months down the road, if there isn’t an improvement in the Soviets’ performance—and there probably won’t be,” the senator warned, “you’d better be loose, so leave a string on it.” The President did exactly that. “This is not an open-ended commitment in perpetuity,” National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane emphasized, noting that the Soviets’ compliance in their building programs and their responsiveness at Geneva would both figure in the willingness of the U.S. to honor the treaty.

Navy Secretary John Lehman, who was allied with Richard Perle (now at the Pentagon) in his tooth-and-nail fight against SALT II in all its manifestations, came through gallantly for the President, describing Mr. Reagan’s action as “played brilliantly.” Lehman also told Cato that the dismantling of our Poseidon submarine (in order to float the Trident and thus conform with SALT II) gives the navy a vessel for training nuclear-sub officers, one that has been needed for years.

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Although some Capitol Hill hardliners are grousing about the President’s decision to stay with SALT II although it was never ratified and is due to expire in December, the Reagan Teflon is holding. Before the decision was made, one Republican senator and close friend of the President urged Mr. Reagan not to lock himself in. “Six months down the road, if there isn’t an improvement in the Soviets’ performance—and there probably won’t be,” the senator warned, “you’d better be loose, so leave a string on it.” The President did exactly that. “This is not an open-ended commitment in perpetuity,” National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane emphasized, noting that the Soviets’ compliance in their building programs and their responsiveness at Geneva would both figure in the willingness of the U.S. to honor the treaty.

Navy Secretary John Lehman, who was allied with Richard Perle (now at the Pentagon) in his tooth-and-nail fight against SALT II in all its manifestations, came through gallantly for the President, describing Mr. Reagan’s action as “played brilliantly.” Lehman also told Cato that the dismantling of our Poseidon submarine (in order to float the Trident and thus conform with SALT II) gives the navy a vessel for training nuclear-sub officers, one that has been needed for years.