Background information: In this speech by President Carter on Afghanistan, he mentions the SALT treaties. The Strategic Arms Lim
itation Talks (SALT) were two rounds of joint talks between the United States and the USSR in which they reached an agreement to reduce the number of weapons each country had. The world simply cannot stand by and permit the Soviet Union to commit this act with impunity. Fifty nations have petitioned the United Nations Security Council to condemn the Soviet Union and to demand the immediate withdrawal of all Soviet troops from Afghanistan. . . . The successful negotiation of the SALT II treaty has been a major goal and a major achievement of this administration, and we Americans, the people of the Soviet Union, and indeed the entire world will benefit from the successful control of strategic nuclear weapons through the implementation of this carefully negotiated treaty. However, because of the Soviet aggression, I have asked the United States Senate to defer further consideration of the SALT II treaty so that the Congress and I can assess Soviet actions and intentions. . . . —US President Jimmy Carter, 1980 Why does President Carter state that the US Congress will wait to pass the SALT II treaty? He believes that the USSR will use nuclear weapons against the United States. He believes that the USSR will use nuclear weapons against the Middle East. He believes that the actions of the USSR should make the United States question its security. He believes that the United Nations should be consulted on any arms-reduction agreement.
Answer: The 1999 NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, the 2008 demonstrations during the Olympic torch relay, and alleged Western media bias, especially in relation to the 2008 Tibetan unrest.
