Strategic Arms Reduction Talks

Kissinger refers to “reduction” of arms and “ending the arms threat” as catchwords in the debate among all NATO countries. With this belief it is little wonder that his thinking seems to be totally concerned with the numbers and destructive powers of the arsenals of both the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

I ask if Kissinger, in today’s world, could consider a vision of negotiations and constructive dialogue leading to the survival of all life on this magnificent planet rather than his continuous diatribe relative to the numbers of arms we can build as a deterrence. The very meaning of deterrence is “to frighten an enemy.”

Are we going to continue living in a society wherein our policy is built on fear rather than hope? Are we going to continue building weapons of death and destruction while robbing our citizens of proper food, shelter, education, social welfare and cultural programs, economic security and all those things which keep a democracy strong and the people productive because of our fear of other people who inhabit the same earth and want to live as much as we do?

ELEANOR WASSON

Santa Monica