Volleys over Outer Space

By Ed Magnuson

Washington deftly returns a suggestion for Star Wars talks

The suspense continued to build. Will U.S. and Soviet negotiators meet across felt-covered tables in Vienna next September, a mere two months before American voters choose a President? If they do, the most acrimonious breakdown in nuclear-arms-control talks between the superpowers in 15 years could be at an end, and one of the Democrats' most formidable campaign complaints about Ronald Reagan will be weakened. If they do not, the political argument will focus on who should bear most of the blame.

The Kremlin formally suggested on June 29 that talks be held to "prevent the militarization of outer space." It proposed a ban on antisatellite weapons, as well as on space-based systems designed to destroy ballistic missiles carrying nuclear warheads. To the Soviets' apparent surprise, the Administration responded with a qualified yes, but it defined the agenda differently. National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane said that the U.S. would also insist on discussing ways to reopen the dual talks on Strategic Arms Reduction (START) and Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF), which the Soviets abandoned late last year after NATO began deploying U.S. missiles in Europe. Although this was partly a political ploy, it made sense. Satellites are part of each nation's nuclear capability. Antisatellite weapons or space-based missile defenses would affect the nuclear balance, and it is difficult to discuss one part of the equation while ignoring the other.

Nonetheless, Soviet officials last week charged that the U.S. proposal amounted to setting "preliminary conditions" on the space talks. They declared that this was "totally unsatisfactory," and that it amounted to a "negative reply" to the Soviet proposal. But over breakfast with Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin in Washington, Secretary of State George Shultz stressed that the U.S. had taken a "positive approach" to the Vienna talks. At a White House barbecue for foreign diplomats, Reagan and Shultz met Dobrynin and held an animated discussion with him. "We'll be there if you'll be there," Reagan told Dobrynin.

When British Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe argued during a visit to Moscow that the U.S. position on space talks was reasonable and positive, Soviet officials reacted with icy disbelief. Howe called the White House to verify that no preconditions were being laid down. Even that did not help. During an official lunch for Howe, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko delivered a harsh blast at the U.S., declaring that Washington was bent on "intensifying the arms race and spreading it to outer space." Howe remarked to reporters that people might well conclude that "the Soviet leaders are even unwilling to take yes for an answer."

Reagan did nothing to soothe relations in an Independence Day speech at a "Spirit of America" festival in Decatur, Ala. Without specifically naming the U.S.S.R., he proclaimed: "The totalitarian world is a tired place held down by the gravity of its own devising, and America is a rocket pushing upward to the stars." Despite the purple prose, he seemed to be genuine about pursuing the talks. He wrote a personal letter to Soviet Leader Konstantin Chernenko, which echoed his public stand on the proposed space talks. The letter and a message from Shultz were given to Dobrynin to take back to Moscow. Heading home, the Ambassador stepped off his plane during a London stopover to find a band playing the Star-Spangled Banner and a crowd waving American flags. The Administration was not responsible -- it was all part of a July 4 salute to the U.S. from British Airways.

At week's end an official statement by TASS bounced the ball back into Reagan's court. The Soviets said there cannot be talks unless there is advance agreement on the subjects to be discussed. A Kremlin spokesman also insisted that a moratoriumon testing of space weapons must begin whenever the talks do. White House Spokesman Larry Speakes found some "good news" in the statement, claiming that it meant "the Soviets are coming to the talks in Vienna." He predicted that arrangements would be worked out "through diplomatic channels."

Why did the Soviets make a surprise offer that played right into the President's political hands? The most prevalent the ory was voiced privately by a Soviet official in New York. He said that his leaders had reluctantly concluded that Reagan would win re-election and that it was time to deal with him again on arms control. Others viewed the offer as motivated by a genuine fear of a space race; the Soviets are also concerned that the U.S. holds an advantage in high technology (see box). Another theory was that the Kremlin leaders had been confident that Reagan would reject talks on space-weapon limitations, which he has generally opposed, and thus would give Moscow propaganda points. In that, they failed.

If talks are held in September, the Administration will have to scramble to formulate its own negotiating position. Top officials at the Pentagon oppose any limits on antisatellite weapons or a moratoriumon testing them. They want to test the newest such device in November. State Department arms experts, on the other hand, have been working on a variety of plans, including one that would permit each side to deploy one space-weapon sys tem to knock out relatively low-altitude satellites, while limiting the destruction of high-flying satellites that are currently be yond the reach of any existing system. "We're willing to talk about anything," claimed a State Department official. "The Pentagon is willing to talk about nothing."

For his part, Reagan seems acutely aware of the political advantage of getting any kind of talks going with the Soviets. At the same time, he seems unlikely to agree to anything that would block his dream of a Star Wars defense system to shoot down at tacking ballistic missiles from space -- a scheme that will take decades to develop if it can be done at all. One State Department official summed up the U.S. bargaining situation: "I'd be surprised if we can define much in advance just what a U.S. position would really be. But the level of interest here has certainly soared."

--Ed Magnuson Reported by Erik Amfitheatrof/ Moscow and Johanna McGeary/ Washington

With reporting by Erik Amfitheatrof/Moscow, Johanna McGeary/Washington