ABSTRACT
Both irony and innovation may be found in the attempts by strategists and policymakers to look to the future. The irony emerged clearly in the Scowcroft Commission report. While demonstrating that the Soviet Union had not gained a decisive nuclear advantage over the United States, the commission recommended a return to single-warheaded missiles. Many of the tragic events occurring have their roots in the distant past. It would absolutely be wrong to see only Moscow's hand everywhere. Although the United States and the Soviet Union hold fundamentally incompatible views of history, of the nature of society, and of the individual's place in it, the existence of nuclear weapons imbues that rivalry with peril unprecedented in human history. Effective deterrence and effective arms control have both been made significantly more difficult by Soviet conduct and Soviet weapons programs.
