ABSTRACT
The Soviets might be interested as well for reasons tied less to their own problems than to Western strengths. Arms control might provide the Soviets with an opportunity to cap the strength of the West German army and perhaps weaken the US tie to the continent. Arms control could be manipulated to slow Western exploitation of emerging technologies and deployment of new weapons. A large part of NATO's deliberations in the area has concerned the choice of forum for negotiating conventional arms control. Declaratory arms control might also be proposed by the Soviet Union. The Soviets have long championed mutual denunciations of the use of force and nonresort to war. Arms control is not simply a mechanical instrument that adjusts or tinkers with the military balance; it is also a tool of strategic engineering that can indicate a preference for and even help bring about alternative security arrangements.
