Posted on 06/10/2004 4:27:58 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The 1980s were a dangerous time for the world. The Soviet Union stood at the peak of its military and political power, its nuclear forces ranged from pole to pole. The globe stood at the brink of World War III with a final countdown of 25 minutes from launch to total thermonuclear combat.
The Soviet Union led the world with an extraordinary increase in nuclear and conventional arms. The Soviet Union had 4.9 million active soldiers, 42,000 tanks, 2,2000 warships, 15,000 combat planes, 1,500 long range nuclear tipped missiles, 1,000 short range nuclear missiles and 900 sub based nuclear missiles.
Soviet bombers equipped with nuclear weapons frequently flew off the U.S. coast. Soviet submarines armed with nuclear tipped missiles prowled off both U.S. coastlines, within 100 miles of the most populated coastal American cities.
In Europe, the Soviets had 10 tank divisions in East Germany alone, backed by another 20 tank divisions poised across the border in Poland and Russia. Thousands of armored vehicles were ready to pour across the Fulda Gap and flow into West Germany.
During one Soviet armored exercise in East Germany, an Army General once commented to me that he could walk from the East German border to Poland on Soviet tanks, never touching the earth beneath them.
All evidence pointed to the Soviet intent to achieve total world domination in every dimension of military power.
Moscow's Saber
The most dangerous and feared weapon deployed by the Soviets was the dreaded SS-20 Saber. The SS-20 was a first strike weapon of unmatched power, designed to start and win a nuclear war.
Between 1977 and 1987, the Soviet Union deployed 654 Saber missiles and 509 launchers in 48 Strategic Rocket Forces regiments. The SS-20 was a modern intermediate-range missile, with a solid-rocket motor, inertial guidance, and three independently targeted reentry vehicles.
The missile had the capability of delivering three nuclear warheads of up to 250 kilotons each. The Saber was also mobile, carried by a large, 12-wheeled truck that functioned as a missile transporter, erector, and launcher.
The SS-20 could deliver its deadly nuclear payload in less than 9 minutes from launch to impact. The SS-20 was designed from the outset not to be under any arms limitation treaty. It's maximum range of 3,000 miles ruled out any attack on U.S. territory but it was never designed to strike America, just win a nuclear war in Europe.
Because the Saber was considered an intermediate range weapon and not a strategic missile, the SS-20 deployments threatened to change the nuclear balance of power in Europe. Moscow held the SS-20 as a sword to intimidate and if necessary, annihilate, any opposition in Europe. The SS-20 was the sword by which the Kremlin would finally defeat NATO.
Nuclear Freeze
At the same time the Soviets started deploying the deadly SS-20 missiles, Moscow began a political program to disarm American and NATO forces opposing them in Europe. Moscow's political program included direct and indirect support for the "Nuclear Freeze" movement inside Europe and America.
The Soviets found many willing patsy friends inside America.
The "Freeze" movement pushed for the total dismantling of U.S. and NATO nuclear weapons, staging massive demonstrations and pressuring the newly elected government of Ronald Reagan.
The liberal press called upon the Reagan to remove the tactical nuclear arsenal from Europe. Europeans fell easy prey to the false theory that a nuclear war between the Warsaw Pact and NATO in Europe would remain inside the continent. Freeze supporters here in the U.S. clamored that the strategic arsenal based inside America was more than enough to stop any attack in Germany.
The Hollywood establishment labeled Reagan a reckless "cowboy" who would press the nuclear button at the drop of a hat. The wide liberal criticism openly insulted Reagan as a senile fool who could carry the world into global nuclear war.
Walk Softly...
Reagan did not give in. Instead of caving to the political pressure, Reagan went against the polls, against the liberal media and against Hollywood's advice to disarm in the face of the Soviet threat. Reagan opted instead to match Moscow's firepower and up the ante.
The Reagan administration decided to deploy a new series of U.S. nuclear missiles in Europe. Despite the protests and howling liberal media, Reagan began to deploy advanced Pershing II tactical missiles and land based Tomahawk cruise missiles to meet the Soviet SS-20 threat.
The limited number and range of the Pershing missiles posed no first strike threat to Moscow. In addition, the Tomahawk cruise missiles would take 1 to 2 hours to strike their targets, thus the land based weapon was clearly a second - retaliatory - strike system.
Reagan's choice of the Pershing and Tomahawk sent a clear message to Moscow. The U.S. would not start a nuclear war in Europe but we certainly would finish it.
As Pershing and Tomahawk squared off against the SS-20 Saber, Moscow and Washington came together to eliminate the problem. Moscow faced the new strategic combination with its own clear message: We need to talk.
The result was the INF treaty. The Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed on December 8, 1987 and entered into force on June 1, 1988. The INF Treaty banned U.S. and Soviet ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as associated support equipment, with ranges between 500 and 5500 kilometers.
The first Soviet SS-20 missile and canister was destroyed under INF Treaty at the Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex on July 22, 1988. The last of 654 SS-20 missiles was destroyed at the Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex on May 12, l991.
The SS-20, Pershing and nuclear Tomahawk missiles are no longer a threat because one man, a great man, stood alone against the madness of global nuclear war. He carried America, Europe, Russia and the world away from the brink of self-destruction - toward a world of peace and prosperity by remaining resolute in the face of danger.
Today, you can view a SS-20 Saber, sitting side-by-side with a U.S. made Pershing II, at the Smithsonian Aerospace facility in downtown Washington D.C. The SS-20 and Pershing missiles are now museum pieces and no longer weapons of war. They stand together in peace, a silent testimony to Ronald Reagan.
not only that, but as mentioned earlier in the article, he went against the media and popular opinion to do so.
Crosslinked:
Updated- go to "last"--
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1148235/posts
Ronald Reagan Passes- some links...
various FR links | 06-05-04 | The Heavy Equipment Guy
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