CHICAGO — The recent arms control developments--coming at a time when President Reagan is looking to regain his popularity among the American people after Irangate and the Soviet Union, under the leadership of Gorbachev, is seeking to consolidate its overwhelming military superiority in Europe--give me an uneasy feeling that this is not the proper climate for a well-bargained treaty. It is strikingly reminiscent of the climate under which SALT I was signed by President Nixon; he was then coming under fire in the Watergate scandal.
SALT I locked the United States into a position of military stagnation while allowing the Soviet Union to upgrade its nuclear arsenal, first achieving parity, and then--by the end of the decade--superiority .