300 THE END OF THE COLD WAR
weapons they held, they were going to eliminate an entire category of
ballistic missiles. World politics had been in crisis since Moscow
had installed SS-20s and Washington had reacted with Pershing-2s.
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty at a stroke removed
the threat that such weapons would bring the day of Armageddon
to Europe. Both sides saw this great advance as only the first stage in
progress towards general nuclear disarmament.