ABSTRACT
A number of Europeans and Americans were becoming increasingly uncertain as to whether America’s nuclear weapons were sufficient to deter the Soviet Union. Since World War II, the principal focus of Western defense policies has centered on efforts designed to offset what has been perceived generally as a preponderance of Soviet conventional power on the European continent. Soviet theater nuclear force improvements have resulted in a depreciation of the deterrent value of the West’s nuclear arsenal. According to the Federal German Chancellor, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks had codified the Soviet-American strategic nuclear balance, thus neutralizing the strategic nuclear capabilities of the superpowers. The inherent “softness” of the data available on Soviet and Western nuclear capabilities prohibits precise calculations of the balances of theater nuclear capabilities. Describing the relationship between nuclear warfare and Soviet doctrine and defense planning, Soviet writers have proclaimed the nuclear weapon to be the “most important element of the battle,” “the basic means of destruction.”.
