The Battle for Aerospace.

The test-ban treaty was the first step, they said; and now we are taking step two: an agreement that neither side will arm orbital vehicles with nuclear weapons. Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko made the proposal in a speech he delivered September 19 to the UN General Assembly. President Kennedy duly echoed it the next day, with the British Foreign Secretary tagging along in the customary manner. The Senate having had its feeble enough say on step one, there will be no treaty for step two. “Parallel declarations” from Moscow and Washington will put the pact on record.

There has been no fanfare about step two. We are being told that it is only “symbolic,” with little practical importance. The military men, it is being reported, are not interested in orbital weapons anyway; they would be less manageable and less accurate than existing airborne and missile systems. No one has bothered to bring up the matter of “inspection.” Each side is willing to trust the other, Scout’s honor, no questions asked.

JB

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James Burnham

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The test-ban treaty was the first step, they said; and now we are taking step two: an agreement that neither side will arm orbital vehicles with nuclear weapons. Soviet Foreign Minister Gromyko made the proposal in a speech he delivered September 19 to the UN General Assembly. President Kennedy duly echoed it the next day, with the British Foreign Secretary tagging along in the customary manner. The Senate having had its feeble enough say on step one, there will be no treaty for step two. “Parallel declarations” from Moscow and Washington will put the pact on record.

There has been no fanfare about step two. We are being told that it is only “symbolic,” with little practical importance. The military men, it is being reported, are not interested in orbital weapons anyway; they would be less manageable and less accurate than existing airborne and missile systems. No one has bothered to bring up the matter of “inspection.” Each side is willing to trust the other, Scout’s honor, no questions asked.