ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides general political guidelines to undergird security policy, as well as concrete proposals for improving NATO's conventional defense with a minimum of expense and specific criteria to guide the formulation of alliance conventional arms control policy. It argues that conventional arms control should be part of a process of creating a geostrategic environment in which change in the East will flourish and in which the dangers of such change to the West can be diminished. The book also presents US and European perspectives, respectively, on the political-military setting. It reviews the general requirements for an effective role for conventional forces in the alliance's overall deterrence concept and shows how these general criteria can also assist the alliance in formulating its overall approach to arms control.
