Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were a series of negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War aimed at curbing the nuclear arms race. Initiated in 1968, SALT I led to key agreements, notably the Treaty on Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Systems and the Interim Agreement on the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Weapons, which were signed in 1972. These agreements sought to stabilize the situation by limiting the number of missile sites and restricting the production of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).
A second round, known as SALT II, began in the early 1970s but faced challenges due to disparities in the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers. Although SALT II was signed in 1979, it was never ratified by the U.S. Senate following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Despite this, both nations adhered to its provisions. SALT represented a foundational effort in arms control during a tense era, highlighting the ongoing need for dialogue and regulation in nuclear capabilities, as both countries had amassed sufficient weaponry to threaten each other's existence.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT)
During the Cold War, the two superpowers, the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), developed and expanded the technology of their nuclear forces. At the beginning of the Cold War, the United States had superior forces. The US was thus confident that the Soviets would not attack, because they would suffer massive retaliation. However, the USSR went on to develop second-strike capability; they possessed weapons capable of surviving a first attack (the first strike) and then striking back. So, by the 1960s, the arms race had reached what was described as Mutually Assured Destruction, or MAD. The acronym was chosen in part to explain the dangerously ludicrous nature of the situation; neither side could prevent the other from destroying it. The two powers then turned to arms control agreements that would regulate the arms race. Indeed, after the Cuban Missile Crisis, both sides were aware of the potentially explosive relations across the Iron Curtain.
Initial Negotiations
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson first suggested arms limitation negotiations in 1967. However, the United States and the USSR did not agree to conduct talks until the summer of 1968, and negotiations did not begin until November of 1969. The first round of talks were called the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, or SALT I. The negotiations actually resulted in several agreements, the most important of which were the Treaty on Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Systems and the Interim Agreement and Protocol on Limitation of Strategic Offensive Weapons. Both of these agreements were signed by President Richard Nixon and General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev on May 26, 1972, at a summit meeting in Moscow.
Anti-ballistic missiles are not immensely destructive weapons by themselves, but are the tools used to destroy incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Ballistic missiles are strategic delivery vehicles that are extremely difficult to defend against. They carry a warhead up along a trajectory, and then let it drop on a target. They typically carry a warhead at least 50 miles high before descending. A powerful rocket is necessary, and a guidance system ensures that the warhead drops close to or on the target. Intercontinental ballistic missiles have ranges of over 5000 miles and can carry as many as ten warheads that can hit different targets.
Limiting anti-ballistic missile production made the Soviet Union and the U.S. quite vulnerable to ballistic-missile attacks from the other side. As a result, neither side would attack, as retaliation would bring massive destruction. The treaty limited the US and the Soviets to only one ABM missile-launching site and to 100 interceptor missiles, and was approved by the United States Senate on August 3, 1972.
The Interim Agreement and Protocol on Limitation of Strategic Offensive Weapons froze the production of American and Soviet ICBMs and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) for five years, at which time a more detailed SALT II would be negotiated. It was an executive agreement, and thus did not necessitate Senate approval, but was approved by Congress in a joint resolution.
Stalemate
Late in 1972, discussions around SALT II opened. These negotiations continued for seven years, and were not as productive as SALT I. One reason for this stalemate was the inequities between Soviet and American arsenals. The Soviet Union had concentrated on developing missiles with large warheads, while the US had built smaller, but more accurate missiles. As a result, reaching a bi-lateral agreement that equally limited both sides was difficult, as their arms were not comparable.
Negotiators finally reached a treaty that limited the number of strategic launchers, ICBMs, SLBMs, heavy bombers, and the total number of strategic launchers to 2,400. President Jimmy Carter, and Leonid Brezhnev signed SALT II in Vienna, on June 18, 1979. It was then submitted to the US Senate for ratification. However, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in January of 1980, increasing tensions between the two superpowers, and prompting Carter to remove the treaty from Senate consideration. Despite the fact that SALT II was never ratified by the Senate, both sides voluntarily abided by the limits in subsequent years. Moreover, renewed arms control negotiations began in Geneva in 1982, this time called the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks, or START.
SALT thus represented the first formal efforts of arms control; an effort that was needed as the United States possessed over 30,000 warheads, and the Soviet Union and the United States were locked in a cold war, with each side having the capability of completely obliterating the other.