Redefined Soviet military doctrine in perspective

On May 29, 1987, the Warsaw Pact's Political Consultative Committee issued a communique proclaiming that the military doctrine of the Warsaw Pact member states is strictly defensive and proceeds from the fact that the application of military means to resolve any dispute is inadmissible under current conditions. Following this declaration, a corresponding redefinition of Soviet military doctrine to emphasize defensiveness and war prevention has evoke lively commentary and debate in both the West and the East. Because doctrinal issues are likely to retain significance during arms control and security negotiations. The purpose of this paper is to highlight important trends associated with a continuing dialogue over Soviet military doctrine and to assess what the future portends as doctrinal discussions unfold. Since 1987 the accelerating pace of change has accentuated the importance of doctrinally related concerns. As a result of the INF Treaty and the Stockholm agreement, there has been greater transparency regarding Soviet and Warsaw Pact military developments. On December 7, 1988, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev announced unilateral troop reduction over the next two years, which, when completed, would reduce the offensive capabilities of Soviet forces in Eastern Europe. In March 1989 talks on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBM) opened in Vienna, with suggestions for exchanges of views on military policy. At the very same time, NATO and the Warsaw Pact began formal negotiations on reduction of Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) with a specific mandate to reduce those asymmetries that most favored prosecution of deep operations