Rhetoric & Rockets

After six more weeks of wrangling in Geneva, the U.S. and Russia wearily announced that they cannot even agree on what to talk about in the latest round of disarmament talks.

The Soviet Union's Delegate Semyon K. ("Scratchy") Tsarapkin insisted that the opening agenda be confined to the Soviet proposal that all nations cut their defense budgets by 10% to 15%. While rejecting this as another unenforceable Red propaganda ploy, the U.S. consented to debate it--but only along with such American proposals as a freeze on nuclear missile and warhead production. This Scratchy scratched.

Before returning to Washington for consultations on the deadlock, U.S. Disarmament Negotiator William C. Foster left some sobering thoughts for his 200 fellow delegates. "While we negotiate," said he, "the arms race goes on--on both sides." In the two years since the Geneva talks began, Foster reported, U.S. strategic missile inventories alone have more than tripled, and by next year "will reach approximately 750% of those in 1962."

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