Influence of Reagan-Era Nuclear Weapons Strategy Endures

By Peter Huessy, Warrior Senior Nuclear Weapons Analyst

VOA recently conducted a two-hour discussion on China, Russia, arms control and nuclear deterrence during which an interesting question was posed: why was the United States successful in securing the START I and INF major arms reduction agreements with the USSR when two previous SALT agreements simply rubber-stamped huge buildups? And were there lessons from that era that could be applied to the current environment where nuclear arms control efforts appear to be stalled.

Despite Ronald Reagan’s landslide re-election in 1984 and the subsequent agreement with Congress to proceed with the full strategic modernization program, including a considerable investment in strategic defense, a problem remained: how to get the Soviets to take seriously negotiations in Geneva over reductions. At the time, the default position had been simply maintaining the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) frameworks the United States inherited in 1981. Further complicating matters, the absence of serious arms talks led some in Congress to continually threaten to raise barriers to fully funding nuclear modernization and strategic defense.

From early 1985 through 1986, the Reagan administration was still faced with several difficult strategic nuclear deterrence challenges. Arms control, particularly the call for reductions, was stalled; and the Soviets had walked out of the arms negotiations in Geneva. On the other hand, Congress thankfully had overcome opposition to the administration’s nuclear modernization program, particularly with respect to the dual Peacekeeper and Small Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (SICBM) land-based missile systems deployments.

On top of which, the 1972 SALT I agreement had expired and the 1979 SALT II deal was never ratified by the U.S. Senate. However, the Reagan administration, in 1981, had agreed on an interim basis to not deploy any strategic nuclear forces in excess of those allowed by SALT II or deployed by the USSR, meaning that there was a general agreement to maintain the status quo regarding deployed strategic nuclear weapons within the SALT framework.

Additionally, the Soviets were not in compliance with several provisions of the SALT agreements, as well as violations of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with respect to a major radar installation at Krasnoyarsk. But nonetheless the Reagan administration kept U.S. strategic force levels at no more than those allowed by the SALT process.

At the time, after the 1984 election, support for the nuclear freeze had dissipated, but questions about the pace of the administration’s strategic nuclear modernization had not been resolved. This was due in part to new budget concerns underscored by the introduction of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, known as Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, that was designed to curtail discretionary spending.

In a series of meetings in 1985-86, the Reagan administration was concentrating on making sure the strategic modernization effort continued, including deploying 100 Peacekeeper missiles and a companion single warhead mobile system known as the SICM. The deployment of the Ohio-class with Trident I submarine-launched ballistic missiles and the building of the B-2 stealth bomber and new cruise missile were also key to the modernization program.

In numerous meetings of the National Security Council (NSC) in 1985 and 1986, the administration also wrestled with what kind of interim restraint policy should be adopted apart from the SALT process. At that time, the Reagan administration thought the SALT I and II agreements were inherently flawed given the large, multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRVed) land-based systems advantage allowed to the USSR.

The modernization and arms control strategy that the Reagan administration produced has interesting lessons for today.

According to declassified NSC documents, the Reagan administration adopted a four-track policy. Its top priority would be to modernize the strategic, long-range nuclear deterrent as laid out in the administration’s November 1981 program of record, but also including the deployment of medium range missiles—the Pershing and Ground Launched Cruise Missiles—to counter Soviet SS-20s.

Second, the administration continued its support for the Strategic Defense Initiative, a robust research and development missile defense program, which despite not immediately resulting in missile defense deployments, helped bring the Soviets to the arms control negotiating table

Third, the United States adopted an interim restraint policy where it would not deploy any strategic nuclear assets in excess of what the USSR had deployed at that time, but the United States would reserve the right to add forces as needed for deterrent purposes. Restraint would not be based on compliance with arms deals that were no longer in force but on the determination of U.S. security policy.

Fourth, in Geneva, the administration pursued dramatic reductions in nuclear weapons from the more than 10,000 warheads allowed under SALT to a number some 50 percent less (around 6000)—a limit that was later adopted under the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction (START) Treaty.

US – Russian Joint Reductions

It is worth underscoring this point. Over the period from 1985 through the end of the Cold War and into the post-Cold War period, the United States proposed and then achieved joint U.S. and Russian nuclear reductions in deployed nuclear forces by 90 percent, an unprecedented accomplishment that confirmed Reagan’s vision that one could build and modernize the U.S. deterrent while simultaneously pursuing reductions.

Missile defense research and development added a potential insurance policy against a breakdown in strategic stability and helped prevent the possible use of nuclear forces by rogue elements—whether the USSR, China, North Korea, or even other emerging nuclear nations.

Thus, deterrence plus arms control and missile defense were proven to be the right formula.

But the Reagan strategy when first proposed was not readily supported. At Reagan’s first press conference, the president was challenged to explain why a strategy of détente and peaceful coexistence was not a preferable to one of peace through strength. Reagan was also asked why the United States should not continue to abide by the SALT arms deals (which allowed for the Soviet build-up of strategic nuclear weapons to over 13,000 from the pre-SALT levels of around 2,000 warheads.)

Reagan responded that one could hardly describe the SALT process as “arms control” in that it allowed for a five-six-fold increase in Soviet nuclear deployments from 1972, to say nothing of the period of the 1970s of
detente and peaceful co-existence during which more than a dozen nations fell into the Soviet orbit.

What lessons we might take from this era and apply to today’s challenges?