7. Editorial Note
On December 17, 1984, the National Security Planning Group met in the Situation Room from 11:00 a.m. until noon. Deliberations centered on how to preserve domestic and allied support for the Strategic Defense Initiative under sustained pressure from the Soviet Union, and the possibility of the Soviets’ walking out of Strategic Arms Reduction Talks and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces negotiations if the Ronald Reagan administration proceeded with research into strategic defenses. President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs Robert McFarlane encouraged the other principals to participate in a public diplomacy campaign emphasizing the benefits of SDI toward reducing the risk of nuclear war. Participants also considered whether or not SDI would rely exclusively on non-nuclear technologies, and the advantages of approaching the Soviets with specific numerical proposals. The minutes of this meeting are printed in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, volume IV, Soviet Union, January 1983–March 1985, Document 334.