Arms Control Today - An Annual Update

The past year has brought both major successes and disappointing delays in the arms control process. During this period, the additional verification protocols of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty and the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty were completed; the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Agreement and a US - Soviet Agreement on the Destruction of Chemical Weapons were both completed and await Congressional action. Despite these positive developments, progress in other fora has been slow. The START Treaty, burdened by its complexity and captive to Soviet internal instability and the US focus on the conflict in Iraq, struggles to survive endgame negotiations and a rigorous ratification process. CFE, despite its completion, was significantly delayed because of disputed Soviet data, and will now apparently be ratified in October of 1991. The US Open Skies initiative appears moribund, and attempts to conclude a multilateral Chemical Weapons Agreement continue to be frustrated by critical verification and policy issues. This paper will present a broad overview of ongoing arms control negotiations and developments over the past twelve months.