At a meeting in Moscow , General Colin Powell , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , endorsed the East Bloc 's move toward a more defensive military posture and reassured his Warsaw Pact ( WP ) counterparts that the US and its NATO allies will not launch an offensive military operation against Eastern Europe . However , he defended US military initiatives that have introduced to Europe new , long - range missiles designed to target Soviet reinforcement forces for WP first - wave attack . Powell also met Tuesday for the first time with the Soviet chief of staff, Gen. Mikhail Moiseyev, an encounter that officials said would allow Powell to raise further questions about the Soviets' efforts to restructure their military forces. There is intelligence information that the Soviets still have large supplies of spare weapons parts and ammunition near the East - West border available for an offensive operation .
At a meeting in Moscow , General Colin Powell , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , endorsed the East Bloc 's move toward a more defensive military posture and reassured his Warsaw Pact ( WP ) counterparts that the US and its NATO allies will not launch an offensive military operation against Eastern Europe . However , he defended US military initiatives that have introduced to Europe new , long - range missiles designed to target Soviet reinforcement forces for WP first - wave attack . There is intelligence information that the Soviets still have large supplies of spare weapons parts and ammunition near the East - West border available for an offensive operation .