CREATORS OF THE FUTURE / TUTORIALOUTLET DOT COM CREATORS OF THE FUTURE / TUTORIALOUTLET DOT COM | Page 12

SDI has been criticized on the grounds that it might upset any chance
of an arms control
agreement with the Soviets. But SDI is arms control. If SDI is, say, 80
percent effective, then it will
make any Soviet attack folly. Even partial success in SDI would
strengthen deterrence and keep the
peace. And if our SDI research is successful the prospects for real
reduction in U.S. and Soviet
offensive nuclear forces will be greatly enhanced.
It is said that SDI would deal a blow to the so-called East-West
balance of power. Well let's think
about that. The Soviets already are investing roughly as much on
strategic defenses as they are on
their offensive nuclear forces. This could quickly tip the East-West
balance if we had no defense of
our own. Would a situation of comparable defenses threaten us? No,
for we're not planning on
being the first to use force. As we strive for our goal of eventual
elimination of nuclear weapons,
each side would retain a certain amount of defensive -- or of, I should
say, destructive power -- a
certain number of missiles. But it would not be in our interest, or
theirs, to build more and more
of them.
Now, one would think our critics on the left would quickly embrace,
or at least be open-minded