Trust, but Verify Reagan, Gorbachev, and the INF Treaty.pdfVIP

The Hilltop Review Volume 5 Article 5 Issue 1 Fall 2011 February 2012 Trust, but Verify: Reagan, Gorbachev, and the INF Treaty William D. Watson Western Michig an University Follow this and additional works at : /hilltopreview Part of the Diplomatic History Commons, Military History Commons, and the Political History Commons Re ommended Citation Watson, William D. (2012) Trust, but Verify: Reagan, Gorbachev, and the INF Treaty, The Hilltop R eview: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at : /hilltopreview/vol5/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open a ess by ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been a epted for inclusion in The Hilltop Review by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please ontact maira.bundza@.                                                                                                                                                    22     TRUST, BUT VERIFY: REAGAN, GORBACHEV, AND THE  INF TREATY    By William D. Watson  Department of History  william.d.watson@    “Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slen­ derest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by miscalculation, or accident, or by  1 madness.  The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us. ”  ­ John F. Kennedy    On December 8, 1987, President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail  Gorbachev signed the Intermediate Nuclear Force Treaty (INF), which aimed to eliminate  short and medium range nuclear weapons