272. Handwritten Notes by Secretary of State Shultz1
Washington, June 6,
1986
US-USSR
- I.
- Relative position [of] the two countries
- A.
- Freedom works and is spreading
- B.
- Free markets, entrepreneurship is the way to go—even China
- C.
- Their only forward positions are based on military force—
- D.
- Even on basic ability to project force, we are in drivers
seat
- —
- bases
- —
- projection capability
- E.
- Only one area of true comparative advantage: land-based,
mobile, ballistic missiles
- —
- a nuclear free world and ballistic missile free world would be to our advantage
- —
- impact of Chernobyl2
- II.
- The concept of linkage
- A.
- Nixon era and
beyond advocacy
- =
- past notion that the rising tide will lift all the boats
- —
- didn’t work
- B.
- Reagan concept
- —
- illustrated by sending negotiators to Geneva at [unclear—height?] of furor over Korean air liner
- =
- will work on areas when we stand to gain
- —
- corollary=we will pursue interests independently where it is to our advantage
- —
- RAND speech & Soviet attitude conditioned by Afghan
- C.
- Soviet problem with “spirit of Geneva”
- —
- Why the [illegible]
- —
- Libya
- III.
- Post-summit [unclear—moves?]
- —
- see notes3
- IV.
- Fork in the road—we have choices & so do they
- A.
- For them.
- —
- Divide and wait
- —
- UN budget, Europe, next will be more malleable, they are young and have time
- —
- But chance to [unclear] with man who can carry his country
- —
- military=block economic plans
- —
- moves suggest he is probing
- B.
- For us
- —
- exam [main?] objectives=
- —
- deep cuts in strategic systems
- —
- SDI [unclear] built into the system of the 1990s
- —
- strong alliances
- —
- strong defense
- —
- need to get going this year if we are to get to strategic systems
- V.
- Our priority actions
- —
- Restore funding for defense and foreign affairs
- —
- Shore up alliances
- —
- Advance positions that can lead to good agreements
- Source: Reagan Library, George Shultz Papers, Arms Control (12/09/1984–07/15/1986); NLR–775–22–76–2–2. No classification marking. The editor transcribed the text from Shultz’s handwritten notes specifically for this volume. An image of the notes is Appendix A. Shultz’s notes were taken during a June 6 NSPG meeting, which took place in the Situation Room from 10:58 until 11:51 a.m. (Reagan Library, President’s Daily Diary) A memorandum for the record of the meeting, prepared by Casey, is in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. V, Soviet Union, March 1985–October 1986, Document 239. The minutes are in the Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, National Security Planning Group (NSPG), NSPG 134 06/06/1986 [US-Soviet Relations]. In his personal diary entry for June 6, the President recalled: “We had a short N.S.P.G. meeting about what we can do with the Soviets. It had to be called off before any decision—we’ll take it up next week. Then Nancy & I had lunch with Suzanne Massie who truly is a great authority on the Russian people & the Soviets. She’s convinced the govt. there is having real problems with Gorbachev & the old guard at odds. I believe this is true.” (Brinkley, ed., The Reagan Diaries, vol. II, November 1985–January 1989, p. 606)↩
- On April 26, a nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union, resulting in the release of radioactive material. Documentation on the accident is in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. V, Soviet Union, March 1985–October 1986.↩
- Not found and not further identified.↩