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Show Bolt II could b dangorous to security Recent defense spending trends may render the signing sign-ing of a SALT II treaty "dangerous" to the security of the nation, U.S. Senator Jake Garn (R-Utah) said. Garn spoke as a member of an American Conservatatlve Union panel discussion on the SALT accords, which included in-cluded Dr. Igor Glagolev, General Daniel Graham and Dr. Charles Marshall. "Iam not one who believes we can look at SALT in a vacuum," Garn explained. "We cannot take it out of context of the overall de fense picture of our country, which has a military budget at the lowerst percentage of the gross national product since before the Korean War. "I happen to believe we ought to have a SALT treaty," Garn stressed. "My opposition Is not to the SALT process, it is not to cutting military budgets, and it is not opposition to lessening lessen-ing the danger of nuclear war. Any opposition I have Is to a particular SALT treaty which may damage the security of the U.S., and may actually invite nuclear war." Garn emphasized that SALT II would not be so potentially dangerous if the UJ3. had not already made some unwise decisions, including in-cluding cancellation of the B-l bomber, and the closing of the last ICBM production line in the free world. "It is useless to argue for or against the cancel, lation of the B-l now, but at least we could have traded It for the Soviet Backfire,1' Garn said. "Instead, we al. low the Soviets to exempt the Backfire from SALT yet the B-l Is still included in the treaty, in case we change our mind." Other participants on the panel concurred with Garn that the Soviets are on the way to military superiority, and that they view the SALT accords differently from the U.S. Dr. Glagolev, a former for-mer SALT consultant to the Soviet Politburo who has received re-ceived political asylum ui the UjS., called American support of SALT "a retreat for democracy," and urged Congress to reject the treaty "as a whole." |
