In a sense the Strategic Defense Initiative (a/k/a Star Wars) is non-negotiable for both the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan wants it off the table in the sense that he wishes to press forward with research, testing, and deployment. Mikhail Gorbachev wants it off the table in the sense that he wants it dropped altogether—wants to deny the Strategic Defense Initiative any status at Geneva.
In an interview with me in Washington, Henry Kissinger made a salient, seminal point: The defensive Star Wars program should be put on the table at Geneva and the extent of its deployment made subject to negotiation, just as would be the case with an offensive weapons system; any pre-emptive Soviet attempt to separate deployment from research and testing must be resisted from the start.




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