The Nation - News from Nov. 9, 1987

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger warned that the Reagan Administration has “to be very careful” in reaching a nuclear arms accord with the Soviet Union and said the United States must maintain its military strength as a deterrent to Soviet attack. Weinberger, who announced his resignation last week, also said that his chosen successor, National Security Adviser Frank C. Carlucci, would not use the Strategic Defense Initiative, known as “Star Wars,” as a bargaining chip to arms accords with the Soviets. “We do have to be very careful with any agreement that we make,” Weinberger said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “First of all, that it’s verifiable because the Soviets have a long record of cheating in these agreements, and secondly that we have the military strength and keep the military strength after the agreements are over.”