When the SALT Hit the Fan

Donald G. Brennan

ON Friday, May 26, 1972, Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev signed what will doubtless prove to be the most important arms- control agreements negotiated in the nuclear era —or, it may be, in any area. But their indubitable importance does not, unfortunately, automatically make them a cause for rejoicing; the San Francisco earthquake, for instance, was important too. It remains to be seen whether the agreements of May 26 will prove to be more or less of a disaster than the earthquake. There is some possibility, not as large as we should wish, that the agreements will not be a disaster at all; and a remote chance, which neither the American public nor the Administration bureaucracy deserves, that they will prove a resounding success.

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Donald G. Brennan

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Department of Defense

Donald G. Brennan

ON Friday, May 26, 1972, Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev signed what will doubtless prove to be the most important arms- control agreements negotiated in the nuclear era —or, it may be, in any area. But their indubitable importance does not, unfortunately, automatically make them a cause for rejoicing; the San Francisco earthquake, for instance, was important too. It remains to be seen whether the agreements of May 26 will prove to be more or less of a disaster than the earthquake. There is some possibility, not as large as we should wish, that the agreements will not be a disaster at all; and a remote chance, which neither the American public nor the Administration bureaucracy deserves, that they will prove a resounding success.