ABSTRACT
Nixon embarked on February 20, 1972 on his way to the historical visit to Peking, leaving behind him two major unresolved SALT related-issues, the SLBMs and the location and number of the ABMs. Based on Admiral Moorer's statement that the Soviet's SLBM program was growing fast, Laird insisted that the United States should make it clear to the Soviets that without including the SLBM in the freeze agreement, there would be no agreement at all. The SLBM affair demonstrated the limit of a president's power. The Soviets had no intention to create a linkage between SALT, the summit and the American actions against North Vietnam. The period from Kissinger's return from Moscow up to the summit, about 18 days, was a time of tense waiting. The prime reason for the tension was the continued escalation in Vietnam, and Nixon's concern over the impact of the American measures taken against North Vietnam on the summit.
