SALT 2 Flashcards
In 1974, what did the USA and USSR agree on?
The Vladivostok Framework
What would each superpower be allowed?
An equal ceiling of 2400 missiles and bombers
What were there technical difficulties over?
The classification of new technologies, including American Cruise Missiles and Russian Backfire Bombers
What were the SALT 2 negotiations unable to decide?
Whether new technologies counted as missiles or bombers, so a final agreement was impossible
What did Carter effectively reject?
The Vladivostok Framework, replacing the entire US negotiating team and demanding much lower ceilings
How did Carter further jeopardise talks?
By announcing a new nuclear project, the USA’s largest government-funded construction project of all time, comprising 200 new missiles and 23 new silos, joined by underground railways
What did Carter agree to upgrade?
America’s nuclear deterrent by investing in the Trident II submarine
What did Carter eventually back down on?
His demand for lower ceilings
When did the USA and USSR sign the SALT 2 Treaty?
June 1979
Why was SALT 2 significant?
It exposed tensions in the US government between a minority who were committed to detente, and the majority who wanted the USA to take a tougher stance against the USSR
How was Carter’s approach to the CW schizophrenic (contradictory)?
On the one hand, he wanted to do more than Nixon and Ford to reduce nuclear stockpiles and on the other, he wanted to appear tougher than Nixon and Ford in his dealings with Brezhnev
