The arrival of one more refurbished B-52 bomber at Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth would hardly seem an event to create diplomatic turbulence. But when the aircraft linked up with the Strategic Air Command Seventh Bomb Wing last Friday, it became the 131st B-52 to be equipped with nuclear- tipped cruise missiles -- and that sent the U.S. right through the ceiling of the SALT II agreement. The unratified 1979 arms-control treaty allows the U.S. a total of 1,320 strategic nuclear delivery systems. If the number of bombers carrying cruises passes 130, the U.S. is obliged to make a...
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