ABSTRACT
At the center of the dispute over the wisdom of an agreement on intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) is a radical difference in perceptions in the West over the state of the European balance of power. In Europe an agreement covering all INF missiles capable of ranges over 500 km is likely to draw attention to the nuclear warheads that remain - so-called battlefield or tactical nuclear weapons - and to conventional forces. Many old hands in conventional arms control continue to think in terms of Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction talks and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). CSCE did culminate in agreements on confidence-building measures to regulate conventional force exercises in Europe. Reinforcing economic considerations are demographic trends similar to those in Western Europe, where a declining birth rate is shrinking the age cohort available for military service.
