START: Finishing an Unfinished Business

In Reykjavik agreement was reached in the matter of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) on the post-reduction limits of 6000 nuclear warheads and 1600 delivery vehicles for each side. It is clear that, whereas 6000 warheads did, indeed, represent a reduction by half of the actual level of the United States at that time (about 12 000 warheads), and somewhat less than that of the level of the Soviet Union (40 per cent of about 10 000 warheads), the reduction in delivery vehicles was considerably less significant for both sides. For the Soviet Union, with approximately 2480 strategic delivery vehicles, a reduction to 1600 units represented a reduction of 36 per cent, and for the United States with 2200 delivery vehicles (according to Soviet data), one of 28 per cent.1 According to American data on US strategic forces (2030 delivery vehicles)2 this reduction was even more modest — 17 per cent in all.