ABSTRACT
There are two matters in discussions that Toogood think have been inaccurate, and no one has corrected the inaccuracy. The first is an assumption that defence policy strives and is deliberately programmed to achieve parity. Toogood think that this is wrong. Under United States legislation there is a requirement for parity in any arms control agreement they enter into, but defence planning is constantly aiming to achieve balance and stability which is not the same as parity. For example, within North Atlantic Treaty Organization there are fewer main battle tanks than there are in the Warsaw Pact but consequently a higher number of anti-tank weapons. In the emerging technologies discussion, no one took issue with an assumption that new conventional technologies are a bad thing. To give another example, there are technologically new conventional military capabilities which can be a very good thing because of their greater precision; one can avoid destroying everything all around.
