Reagan-Gorbachev Meeting in Iceland

There are two possible views of Gorbachev’s surprise proposal in Iceland.

1--He sincerely wants to reduce weapons and make the world a safer place, but needs to stop the Strategic Defense Initiative to protect the U.S.S.R., or

2--He wants to kill SDI at all costs, and was willing to promise anything to do so.

Lamentably, The Times editorial fell into the former trap, though all signs point to the latter reason.

Why did Gorbachev demand that all field research be stopped? Stopping SDI testing until its charismatic proponent is out of office would effectively kill the program once and for all--whether or not the U.S.S.R. complied with its promised reductions.

Reagan offered to not deploy any SDI systems during the cutback period. This would have prevented any “threat” from SDI if the Soviets were at all serious about drastic arms cuts.

Since Gorbachev blind-sided the United States with his surprise plan, and attempted to ram it down Reagan’s throat during a 36-hour period, clearly his real objective was to gain a propaganda advantage, increasing U.S. and Western European pressure on Reagan to drop SDI.

The suggestion by Gorbachev that SDI “could easily be an offensive weapon” is ludicrous. Any atmospheric physicist will tell you that the proposed space-based particle beams could not dent hardened missile silos, and the threat to space-based satellites comes long after the U.S.S.R. has tested its own “killer satellites.”

I’ve always opposed Reagan as a candidate, but this is one case where partisan differences should take a back seat to the national interest.

JOEL W. WEST III

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