Arms races are like potentially deadly games of One-Up. One side gets something cool, and the other side is all, "Oh yeah? Well check out what we can do." And then the first country is like, "Well, we can do that too—but better." And thus it continues, until someone somewhere realizes that maybe this is all getting a little too scary and calls a time-out.
Because One-Up is fine and dandy when we're comparing stories of strange things we've done or cool places we've gone, but it's a little less cool when we're talking about who can annihilate the earth's population faster.
During the Cold War, the SALT, NATO, and Geneva talks Reagan references in "Speech at the Berlin Wall" were the arms race time-outs. (We've got to hand it to the world's leaders for realizing that the arms race game needed some time-outs.)
Questions About Warfare
- According to Reagan, how do weapons help keep the peace?
- How do you think Reagan's Western audience responded to Reagan's pledge that the United States would "maintain the capacity to deter Soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur" (78)? Do you think his Eastern audience had the same reaction?
- How have the weapons arsenals of the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R. changed since 1987?
- The U.S.'s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was commonly referred to as "Star Wars." Why?
Chew on This
War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.
War is a necessary evil, and having the right weapons is key.