ABSTRACT
The unique quality of Soviet threat discerned by Americans has not pointed to anything very extraordinary in Soviet statecraft but rather to the absence of adequate balancing elements within Europe and Asia and to the novel range and destructiveness of modern weapons. Soviet-American antagonism certainly has some ideological content, but that content is more of an overlay than essential fuel. The military professionals on the Soviet General Staff can go along with "new thinking" or "reasonable sufficiency," and even with paying renewed attention to defense. Before citing the grounds for skepticism over the medium-turn significance of the proclaimed changes in Soviet military thinking and posture, it is essential first to identify what appears to be occurring in Soviet thought and policy. Soviet leaders and spokespeople have been talking unusually systemically about national security, acknowledging unambiguously that one country cannot, or should not, seek security at the expense of the security of others.
