Is It Over, Over There?

INTERNATIONAL relations; SOVIET Union-United States relations; KISSINGER, Henry, 1923-2023; GOVERNMENT policy

UNITED StatesReport Available; SOVIET Union

The article discusses the policy of U.S. concerning Soviet Union affairs. Former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, in 1976 issued a telegram of guidance to certain American diplomatic posts which had a basic assumption that the Soviet Union was emerging as a global superpower, and that there was very little anyone can do to prevent it. It is reported that in recent years the Soviet Union has been increasing both the strength and the efficiency of its land forces in northern and central Europe the most likely theater of a future war. According to the author, the success of detente policies so far does not furnish grounds for excessive confidence. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks have done nothing to prevent the Soviet Union from shifting the nuclear balance perceptibly in its own favor.