Solution-Oriented Policy

For forty years, the two countries had been engaged in an arms race, each producing the most dangerous weapons in history to destroy the other. But now, they are placing restrictions on those very weapons and even dismantling them. The Times of India (August 3, 1988, Section 2, p.1) carried a report with the headline: USSR destroys 4 missiles The report stated that on August 2, 1988, the Soviet Union destroyed four short-range missiles (OTR-22) at Saryozek. The event was witnessed by observers from various countries, including India and the United States. The destruction was carried out under the agreement signed between Reagan and Gorbachev. According to this agreement, the Soviet Union will, over the next three years, dismantle 1,752 missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. The United States, under the same agreement, will dismantle 859 missiles of the same type. The reason behind this dramatic change in U.S. and Soviet policies is that the pursuit of weapons and military dominance had stalled both countries’ progress. After spending half a century in an arms race and in a blameoriented policy, they realized that such a negative course had brought them no real benefit. On the contrary, in trying to outdo one another, they had pushed themselves to the brink of destruction. That is why they have now