ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the expectations the United States—under the Richard Nixon, Ford, and Jimmy Carter administrations—has had for the strategic arms limitation process. It explores several interrelated ways in which Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) arguably has or has not substantially facilitated defense planning, such as by reducing uncertainty in US projections of Soviet strategic capabilities and facilitating US measures to maintain stability in the strategic nuclear balance. The intelligence function of estimating the performance and deployment of Soviet strategic forces—which preceded, continues under, and would remain without SALT—is enhanced by SALT's provisions facilitating collection of intelligence. Constraining the costs of the strategic nuclear arms competition would seem to be a significant way for SALT to affect defense planning, by releasing resources either for non-defense needs or for other costly defense requirements—such as general purpose forces to enable sustained conventional defense of North Atlantic Treaty Organization/Europe.
