He is a former pacifist and conscientious objector who staunchly supports America's military buildup. He is a lifelong Democrat who advised Walter Mondale on foreign policy but who today works for Ronald Reagan. By his own estimation, Max Kampelman, 65, the chief U.S. negotiator at the Geneva arms- control talks, is an idealistic realist who entertains no illusions about the Soviet Union. As the fifth round of the current negotiations continued last week, Kampelman called the U.S.S.R. "probably the most deadly and most serious adversary" the U.S. has ever known.
After 14 months of impasses on Star Wars and long-range weapons,...