American Notes Arms Control

Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev endorsed still another arms-control idea last week, this one for a zone in central Europe free of chemical weapons. The U.S. rejected the notion as quickly as it thumbed down Gorbachev's suggestion last month for a moratorium on underground nuclear tests. Presidential Spokesman Larry Speakes called the chemical-free zone a "resurfacing and repackaging of ideas we have heard before" and added that, besides, it would be difficult to verify.

After a 16-year hiatus, the Pentagon wants to begin producing new chemical weapons again to replace its aging stockpile of existing ones. The White House contends that the Soviets have used chemical munitions in Afghanistan and Southeast Asia and claims that the Gorbachev proposal is merely a propaganda move aimed at winning support in Europe before his summit with Reagan in November. While that may be the case, the Administration continues to find itself faced with agile Soviet diplomatic gambits that could give the Kremlin a public relations advantage, particularly among America's European allies.