OUTLINE OF OPENING STATEMENT ON DETENTE
I
Definition of Detente
Detente is a diplomatic term meaning the cessation of strained relations
between nations. It falls somewhere between cooperation and rapproachment
and is particularly applicable to describing the relationship between the
US and the USSR during the 1970s.
II
Purpose of Detente
A. To reduce the possibility of war between the US and the USSR
1. US maintains an arsenal of strategic weapons which includes 1,054
Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), as well as over 400
manned bombers and 656 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
a. each ICBM carries at least one, and up to three , warheads
(SLBMs carry from 10 to 14, and manned bombers carry'8)
b. single warhead ICBMs have a destructive force of up to
10 MEGATONS (MT), 600,000 times as powerful as the
Hiroshima A-Bomb
c. multiple warhead ICBMs have an explosive force of about
170 KILOTONS (KT) , 10 times the Hiroshima A-Bomb.
2. USSR-maintains an arsenal of 1,618 ICBMs, over 700 SLBMs and 135
manned bombers
a. USSR ICBMs may be armed with either single or multiple
warheads, depending on the ICBM type (same in US)
b. largest USSR warhead is 1,000,000 (ONE MILLION) times
as powerful as Hiroshima A-Bomb
3. UNITED STATES COST for maintenance of strategic arsenal alone
was $17.6 BILLION last year and should exceed $21 BILLION this year
a. Total defense budget approximates $100 BILLION/year
B. Possibility of war between US and USSR increasing
1. balance of nuclear power becoming unstable because of:
a. military competition
b. new military technologies
1) new technologies make controls exceedingly difficult
for strategic arms limitation agreements
2) EXAMPLE- if nation develops effective laser ballistic
missile defense (research into which has been funded in
US and USSR for several years, and more security is
afforded the laser project at Kirtland AFB than was the
Manhatten Project), then existing delivery vehicles
become obsolete and the developing nation thus has an
incentive to launch a first strike (NOTE: the laser at
Kirtland AFB has already shot down target drones and
ignited targets two miles away)
C. Secondary goal is the advancement of human rights
1. USSR, without detente, is concerned with survival and, therefore,
perceives the international situation to be one of high tension
2. during periods of tension, forces for change are invariable
suppressed or ignored, regardless of nation
3. there are forces for change in the USSR
4. detente means international relaxation and, therefore, there is a
better chance for the forces of change to come to power
5. lessening of international tension will allow world public
opinion to focus on the USSR and this f may be effective
III
A. Confrontation
1. NOT VALID - not cited by either the US or the USSR as a modus
operandi.
2. NOT VALID - increases possibility of nuclear war
3. EXAMPLE-- how many people would desire to live in a world wherein the
Cuban Missile Crisis was a monthly event, and how long would that
world continue to escape from such close calls?
B. Increased hardness
1. NOT VALID - increases tension and risk of war
2. NOT VALID - may force the Russians into undesirable actions
3 - NOT VALID - this attempt has failed in the past
^' NOT VALID - even our allies resent it when we adopt a hard
position regarding them, how much less an enemy accepts that
C. Holding Back Trade
1. VALID - THIS IS A PART OF DETENTE (SEE PRIORITIES AND BENEFITS)
IV
Priorities and Benefits of Detente
A. Reduction of possibility of war
1. relaxation of tensions
2. control of military competition
3. control of strategic arms
4. increased restraint (i.e., talking and negotiation instead
of condemning and attack)
B. Increased trade
1»- We need USSR raw materials
2. Russia needs grain and advanced technology
3. Increased trade aids the balance of payments
a. creates orders/ which increases production, which
increases employment
4. Increased trade provides us with a control of USSR behavior
a. Threat of cancellation of contracts for provision
of -materials and goods necessary for USSR in the
event of "USSR aggressive behavior
b. no control of this type currently exists (indeed,
no control of any type, except threat of war, exists)
C. Reduction of Arms brokering
1. USSR sells weapons to every continent but Australia
2. US sells weapons to every continent
a. sold $11 BILLION worth last year alone
3. Increased arms means increased local conflict which means
increased possibility of direct US and USSR involvement
which means increased possibility of war.
D. Secondary Goal, AFTER ACCOMPLISHMENT OF PRIME GOAL-REDUCING POSSIBILITY OF WAR
1. advancement of human rights in the USSR
2. USSR political system, as any other, suppresses forces for
change in period of international tension
3. USSR political system, as any other, will be more receptive to
change in period.of international relaxation
4. IF THERE IS NO THREAT OF WAR, other nations will ally themselves
with the US or the USSR because of desirability of political
and economic systems. US AND USSR WILL COMPETE NOT IN WAR BUT IN
TERMS OF WHAT MAY BE PROVIDED TO THEIR CITIZENRIES IN LIBERTIES
AND MATERIAL GOODS.
V
Conclusion
Detente is necessary. Without detente we can do nothing but
increase the possibility of war while strengthening the rigidities and
excesses of the Soviet political system. With detente we have an opportunity, and
therefore an obligation, that comes but rarely to a nation: the opportunity to
create a new and peaceful international order.
.
achieve the goal through the use of detente. There is no choice,