ABSTRACT
Gerald Ford's assumption of the presidency after Nixon's resignation in August of 1974 offered an opportunity for the restoration of an effective American foreign policy. The strategic arms limitation talks (SALT) were the cornerstone of detente in the Nixon era, but the issues dealt with in the talks were hardly new to the Nixon presidency. Kissinger testifying to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee explains the policy of detente toward the Soviet Union. Nixon passed over his secretary of state and instead elected to send national security adviser Henry Kissinger. During a second Kissinger trip to China the basic outline of the communique that would be issued during Nixon's visit was worked out. In essence, the Americans and Chinese agreed to disagree. The Shanghai Communique was a summary of the often contradictory positions held by the two governments. American strategists in the Johnson administration were highly suspicious of the value of antiballistic missile systems (ABMs).
