European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes tuesday March 11, 1986 columns & comments Tom Wicker Reagan does t want any ban on nuclear testing t vat a /1t it firn of. I i we want agreements that truly diminish the nuclear danger. We want real agreements agreements that really work with no  if Ronald Reagan really meant those words in his speech on military spending Why has he turned his Back on the single Best Opportunity available to the superpowers for an agreement that really works with no cheating that Opportunity lies in a joint moratorium on nuclear testing which might Well Lead on to a comprehensive test ban treaty. Reagan is the first president to evince no interest whatever in either a moratorium or a treaty. That is not because As he and his administration once insisted neither could be adequately verified. Mikhail Gorbachev the soviet Leader has explicitly agreed to both on site inspection and whatever achievements of seismology May be use Ful for verification purposes actually As far Back As the Carter administration s negotiations for a such a treaty Moscow agreed in principle to on site inspections. Nor docs Reagan s steadfast opposition to a test ban derive As his administration now insists from a need for periodic proof testing to make sure nuclear weapons in the stockpile still work. That s Only an excuse because such tests have Seldom been conducted in the past and qualified scientists say weapons reliability can be adequately checked by other Means. The administration further insists that worries about weapon reliability undermine deterrence on both sides perhaps making it More Likely that one or both superpowers would use nuclear weapons before they could be considered unreliable. That s just another excuse for continued testing be cause if either Moscow or Washington acted on such Flimsy reasoning it would face certain nuclear retaliation. Actually in the unlikely event that no Flora Lewis Clear weapon reliability becomes a real concern the uncertainty would affect both superpowers probably making both Les Likely to use them. The administration certainly can t argue that a test ban can t be worked out with the russians. Gorbachev proposed a six month test moratorium last summer and Moscow has pursued it Ever since. Ronald Reagan rejected it out of hand. In his Jan. 15 Call for disarmament Gorbachev de voted about a Quarter of his statement to the Issue and extended his unilateral moratorium three months to March 31, with a further invitation for the United states to join. Reagan did not respond. Such a moratorium cannot be considered a danger to . Security. If the russians were to cheat that would be known immediately in that Case or if Moscow openly broke the agreement the United states could immediately resume its own tests with Little scientific or Mili tary loss. It s even a violation of Reagan s Legal responsibilities for him to refuse to discuss a moratorium or a test ban with Moscow. In both the limited test ban treaty of 1963 and the nuclear nonproliferation i treaty of 1968, the United states is solemnly pledged to work and negotiate for an end to All nuclear tests for All time. That s Why it s necessary to question whether Reagan told the nation the truth when he claimed to want agreements that truly diminish the nuclear  a test ban toward which a successful joint moratorium would be an important step would diminish that danger perhaps More than any other feasible agreement it would do so by making the development of new nuclear weapons far More difficult if not impossible. Precisely for that reason Ronald Rea Gan does not want a test ban. He wants for one specific thing to continue the kind of underground nuclear explosions that he Hopes will Lead to the perfecting of an x Ray laser. Such lasers would be a vital component of Reagan s proposed space based defense which he persists in falsely Labelling  he wants also to continue the development of new and More effective nuclear weapons because As he has just told the nation again he believes the russians maintain military including nuclear superiority Over the United states. There s no credible evidence to support that Asser Tion but Reagan has never been one to rely on evidence. The House however May Well rely on the Strong evidence demonstrating that Reagan does not want a real agreement with no cheating to ban nuclear tests. The chairmen of its foreign affairs com Mittee and armed services committee to Gether with 208 other members Are Spon Soring a measure calling for a resumption of test ban negotiations with the russians. The Senate already has passed such a Reso Lution. Reagan needless to say is opposed. C the new York times Congress must take initiative to Force arms talks Mikhail Gorbachev has extended the soviet moratorium on nuclear testing until the end of March to induce the United states to Stop testing. A House Resolution calling on the administration to re sume negotiations for a Complete nuclear test ban has More than 200 congressional co sponsors and is sure of passage. A Simi Lar Resolution was passed by the Senate. Since 1963, the . Has repeatedly committed itself by treaty to negotiate a permanent ban on All nuclear tests. But the Reagan administration has broken off talks with Moscow on the Issue and clearly does not want to Start up again. It is apparently All the More reluctant now because the russians Are making interesting offers for inspection and verification rather than being intrigued by this new soviet flexibility on what was always called the major stumbling Block. Why there Are layers on layers in the arguments against giving up nuclear explosions underground the Only remaining Legal possibility. A favorite is to develop the a Ray laser weapon for Star wars which has to be fuelled by a nuclear explosion. Beyond that is the argument that the . Can t rely on its existing Arsenal with out testing some other weapons occasionally to Sec if they still work As planned. The anti test ban group in the Pentagon at the weapons laboratories and elsewhere brushes aside the Point that the russians would be faced with the same uncertainty about their weapons which would make them less Likely to try a Surprise attack they say the less sophisticated soviet arms Are More robust a word fashionable in military jargon and therefore less Likely to deteriorate than More Complex refined american missiles. And Why Aren t american missiles made so they Are More reliable and can have defective parts replaced without nuclear tests they could be but As the Livermore physicist Hugh e. Dewitt pointed out in 1983 in the Magazine physics today the labs Don t want to design them that Way. The designers have always worked on the Assumption that tests will never be forbid Den and therefore they can argue that they need tests to ratify their Choice of design. It makes a closed Circle. If tests were banned the lab directors say the designers would Drift off to other jobs in boredom and frustration. The United states would lose its Pool of expertise. Is the real reason for continued testing then to give weapons designers something exciting to do no say the opponents of a ban it s because the russians might cheat no matter How effective the verification sys tem and then America would need experienced people to catch up quickly. Besides some argue if the . Wants to move away from Multi warhead mis Siles which Are destabilizing and vulnerable toward smaller one warhead missiles like midget Man it could need More tests. But this in t at All Clear. Donald Kerr who recently resigned As director of the research installation at los Alamos n.m., has said that whether tests would be required depends on Pentagon specifications for the missiles. The Pentagon has deliberately Dawdle in deciding what it wants and does t seem to want midget Man As you probe Down and Down through the arguments the Basic one emerges. It is that the . Needs to keep All its options that it needs to have the Choice to make different and better nuclear weapons when a new idea comes along. And that leads to the Core question. Even As it negotiates with Moscow to de stroy a Large percentage of existing weapons on both sides does America still want to keep building More kinds of nuclear arms or Are there More than enough in the world already while a comprehensive test ban would t guarantee that no More countries Are going to become avowed nuclear pow ers it would be a Strong restraint on proliferation. If the soviet Union the . And Britain which were negotiating such a ban agreed to renounce All testing permanently any test by a new country would provoke world outrage and possibly sanctions there Are compelling reasons for a ban that can be adequately verified. It would go a Long Way toward stopping the nuclear arms race. But it is obvious that the administration refuses to take the initiative. So it is up to Congress. Congress proved that it can act effectively on arms control by passing a Law Banning . Tests of anti satellite weapons As Long As the russians Don t test them. That is an important Start. The next step is to press for a ban on All nuclear tests. C the new York times pulse Kate