State Department's Davis outlines Nuclear Arms Control

Richard A. Davis, former Deputy Director of the Office of Strategic Nuclear Policy, U.S. Department of State, discussed Nuclear Arms Control in the Public Affairs Symposium on February 13, 1984. In his discussion, Davis outlined the then current United States policy regarding the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) with the Soviet Union. In answer to a question of how the Soviet Union perceived the American Nuclear Movement, Davis said that the Soviet government viewed the problem with some amusement as a result of not understanding the rapid shifts in public policy that result from public debate. He also reported that U.S. policy regarding nuclear deterrents was largely unchanged from one administration to the next.

Davis stressed that a sense of realism was important in balancing competition and compromise when dealing with the U.S.S.R., because of the slow, minimal changes in policy that accompanied each change in Soviet leadership. Davis went on to state that this sense of "realism" characterized the Reagan administration's attitude toward Russia, citing Soviet arms build-up and aggression major concerns. But that the U.S. government sought compromise in pursuit of stability.