Word: offing
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1960
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
As a member of the audience later suggested, most of the opposition to Tocsin had been based on a misunderstanding of its aims and proposals.
Outlining the special dangers of the present arms race, Beer spoke of "the need of either power to be able to strike instantly with full force." Thus, measures intended for defense can easily appear as preparations for aggression, and so drive a watchful enemy to strike first.
Beer sketched five possible approaches to the arms race, starting with the one most familiar, deterrence. The present U.S. and Soviet policy, deterrence depends on the threat of nuclear retaliation for an attack. Among the dangers here are accident and miscalculation, for the system requires both full, swift information and...
Yet, said Beer, our surrender would fall to eliminate the danger of nuclear war, because a new chief rivalry--between China and Russia--would replace the present struggle, and thus unilateral disarmament would mean loss of both freedom and peace.
Finally, Beer spoke for arms control through "unilateral initiative" and/or multilateral negotiations. This is Tocsin's approach, and Beer's: taking small steps of disarmament in the expectation that the Soviets will "reciprocate with a similar or equivalent action." On our part, such steps would be intended "clearly to weaken...