Return of the Frost

In the last few years, statesmen and scholars have tended to relegate the cold war to the history books. With the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the old deep freeze has once again engulfed U.S.-Russian relations. Last week, in measured moves designed to express distrust and disapproval, both Defense and State Departments stiffened the U.S. posture against the Soviet Union.

Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford inaugurated the new stance by directing that the $5.5 billion Sentinel anti-ballistic-missile program be exempt from any of the budget cuts dictated by Congress this year. Though the ABM system is primarily designed to protect the U.S. against Chinese ICBMs, which are now said to be at least a year behind schedule, Clifford insisted that "current developments" force the U.S. to "press forward as planned with the Sentinel system." Opponents fear that this may even mean the eventual revival of the once-proposed (and rejected) larger ABM shield directed against Soviet missiles as well.

In his National Press Club speech, Clifford also called for the retention of a large U.S. ground force in Europe, which until recently was the target of powerful congressional economizers. "The events of the past few weeks have clearly demonstrated that a significant American military presence in Western Europe is still needed," the Defense Secretary said.

In the State Department, reaction was less dramatic but still pointedly directed against Soviet actions in Czechoslovakia. A seven-week tour of the U.S.S.R. by the University of Minnesota symphonic band was canceled. So was a special Aeroflot junket of Russian VIPs to New York to promote the new Moscow-New York flights (though the regular Aeroflot and Pan Am flights will continue). Finally, at week's end, the State Department halted a cultural-exchange program with Poland, and announced that further moves were under consideration. A cultural program with Rumania--the only Warsaw Pact nation that did not join the Czech invasion --will continue.

Mindful that the new coolness might affect passage of the nonproliferation treaty, President Johnson asked the Senate once again to approve it. But with Moscow's new militance he did not see any trip to Russia "in the offing."

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