Soviet INF: NATO and the United States Mobilize to Counter the Threat

Abstract

The briefing to the NATO Permanent Representatives in the summer of 1976 was followed by briefings of senior Allied officials in NATO capitals. While the SS-20 was a point of great interest, once again the main thrust of the briefing was to focus on the need for NATO to strengthen its conventional forces to offset the growing and technically improving Soviet forces. The Ford administration hoped to build upon the impact of the briefings of congressional leaders in Washington and of Allied leaders to gain support for a major program to improve NATO’s military readiness. But the election of 1976 put Jimmy Carter in the White House. His administration would have to determine whether and to what extent the United States would devote its resources to NATO’s “getting well” and how best to deal with the political and military threat posed by the SS-20.