The most famous talks to be held concerning arms control were the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I) The agreement drawn up essentially freezes at existing levels the number of strategic ballistic missile launchers, operational or under construction and permits an increase in SLBM launchers up to an agreed level for each party only with the dismantling or destruction of a the same number of older ICBM or SLBM launchers. The talks were deemed a success in the light of the Cold War but all that was really achieved was the “ABM Treaty…the treaty certainly advanced the cause of arms control and contributed to strategic stability.” But it wasn’t until 1979, during the Carter administration that it was decided that the SALT talks needed to be finalised. SALT II would be an historic achievement and the first and last time Brezhnev and Carter would come together in a summit forum. At the end of the summit SALT II was also seen as a success. On Carter's arrival back home however concerns as to the particulars of the SALT II talks were raised. The republican right, accused Jimmy Carter of being too soft on the Soviet's and changes were made through the Senate. As this set of policies collapsed, the Soviet's were deciding whether to intervene in a now war torn Afghanistan. In December 1979, some Carter's sentiments were extremely hostile towards this invasion and moved to boycott the upcoming Olympic games to be held in Moscow. Washington seemed to be stuck in the Cold War attempt at détente and the very thought of peace was cut short.

The CTBT focuses too much on the big nuclear powers of the world. Countries such as the United States, Russia, and China are the real winners in this deal. Smaller countries such as India have to worry about threats, as the ‘big ones’ do not. India is in constant loggerheads with Pakistan, if India does not adhere to the CTBT, neither will Pakistan. If this were to be so, India would have to stockpile enough nuclear arms to keep up with Pakistan similar to the Cold War syndrome involving US and Russia, “Pakistan might in relation to India inherit the role of the Soviet Union in relation to the United States, courting total ruin before the economic absurdities of modern warfare could commensurately destroy its enemy.” India wants to continue as a nuclear power to try and deter the Pakistani government from launching into Indian Territory, if the United States were to build their Anti Ballistic Missile system (ABM) in North America, it would be a clear violation of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed in 1972, thus forcing the U.S withdrawal from the treaty and with the most important player ejected from important treaties the US would be reluctant to sign any other treaties in the near future creating an imbalance in negotiations resulting in the instability of certain regions, the sub continent of Asia in this case.

Some topics in this essay:
Cold War, Crisis October, United ABM, F-16 FALCON, Middle East, Russians Russia, Korea Syria, Pakistan India, , ABM Treaty, arms control, abm system, cold war, world countries, third world countries, third world, mass destruction, pakistan india, weapons mass, india adhere, create stability, weapons mass destruction, world war ii, arms control create, control create stability,