The Reagan-Gorbachev Arms Control Breakthrough (PDF)

This book analyzes the elimination of intermediate- range nuclear force missiles through vivid, fresh impressions by those who conducted the INF negotiations. It is difficult to invoke the challenges of the waning years of the Cold War, with the ever-present fear that Soviet tank armies would thrust toward the English Channel, bringing nuclear war in its wake. The Reagan-Gorbachev Arms Control Breakthrough brings this period to life through the writing of key participants in the seminal negotiations leading to the completion of the INF Treaty and the ensuing epic struggle to secure its ratification by the U.S. Senate. The book provides an astute balance between the assessments of senior negotiators. It provides nuts and bolts observations on specific elements of the Treaty by in-the-trenches negotiators; the tangles that challenged the keenest of legal minds; and the political maneuvers required to bring it through the pits and deadfalls of the Senate. Additionally, The Reagan-Gorbachev Arms Control Breakthrough provides an often-forgotten perspective of the moment, offering the opportunity for retrospective judgment. Is there a test that time demands? Are there lessons learned and conceived at the time that still pass that test? The INF Treaty was a pivotal moment in history, which was seized and resulted in a precedent-setting agreement and coincidental lessons from which much of arms control of the past quarter century has been advantageously built.