User:Jgjarabek/Zbigniew Brzezinski

Arms Control
Zbigniew Brzezinski utilized the United States' need to stability and progress in political relations with the Soviet Union to spur on the call for a new strategic arms treaty. On April 5th, 1979, Brzezinski made a speech at the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations where he stated that competition between the two powers and the nuclear arms race would not simply end because of the accord. According to him, the projected strategic arms treaty that would intend to impose limits on power such as missiles and bombers through the year 1989, would be what contributes to the progress and confidence in Soviet-American relations.

He aimed to frame his arms control policy in a way that portrayed it as favorable to create, ensure, and maintain Soviet-American relations. Leading up to the presidential election in 1980, the Carter administration set sight on confronting Ronald Reagan on arms control agreements with Moscow. On this issue, Brzezinski believed that to continue moving safely ahead with talks to control atomic arms with Moscow, despite Soviet troops holding position in Afghanistan, the United States needed to remain firm in containing Soviet expansionism.

Overall, Zbigniew Brzezinski’s arms control views leaned skeptical and mistrusting of Soviet motives in general and emphasized the central importance of the East-West competition. On the other hand, other officials such as the Secretary of State Cyrus Vance worked to pave a way for a wider US-Soviet relationship. Arms control in Brzezinski’s terms would take any opportunity to halt or reduce the momentum of the Soviet buildup. [1] https://www.jstor.org/stable/3792486?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents