ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the roots of the problems still to be resolved and examines the nature of some of the other uses that have been suggested for the MBFR forum. The two major problems in MBFR are in fact symptoms of what seems to be an incurable disease. The disease is the Soviet penchant for secrecy; the symptoms are the long-standing problem of the inability to agree on existing Warsaw Pact troop strengths in Central Europe and, secondly, the differences between the two sides as to the nature of verification measures that would be required to assure that the terms and conditions of an agreement were being complied with. Western negotiators were somewhat surprised to find in it an article that in effect stated that an MBFR agreement limiting manpower in Central Europe would be subordinate to any existing agreement between signatories.
