Precision Guided Munitions: Implications for Detente

No consensus has yet developed regarding the meaning or impact of new high-technology tactical weapons systems, either with respect to the military balance in Europe or in the larger context of East-West relations and detente. Some writers believe that a radical shift in the tactical military balance may be underway, possibly approaching a point of departure from traditional reliance upon nuclear weapons. The following discussion first reviews the time-honored debate over the defensibility of Western Europe without recourse to tactical nuclear weapons. It then introduces the new dimensions represented by precision guided munitions and related technology and identifies the principal intellectual schools which have developed as a result. Finally, it transcends the debate to seek out and to explore the likely implications of the opposing points of view for western security.