Answer:
Congress didn't ratify the SALT II treaty because the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.
Explanation:
The SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) agreements were two rounds of disarmament negotiations and agreements between the USSR and the US. SALT I took place between 1969 and 1972 and SALT II between 1972 and 1979.
The negotiations began on 17 November 1969 in Helsinki and continued either in Helsinki or Vienna. The negotiations were long overdue, but in May 1972 it was agreed to freeze the number of launch points for strategic nuclear missiles and limit the installations of rocket defense around them. The SALT I treaty was signed on May 26, 1972 by US President Richard Nixon and US Secretary-General Leonid Breshnev. It was also agreed to continue the disarmament negotiations.
The disarmament negotiations continued to discuss reductions in the number of strategic nuclear weapons. On June 18, 1979, President Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev met in Vienna and signed an agreement on disarmament, called SALT II. But six months later, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and the Senate therefore never ratified the agreement. Although the agreement was not formally binding, the parties adhered to it.
