tc.redstormrising-第11节

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；　exactly　what　they　were　。　。　。
They　could　be　manipulated；　of　course；　by　a　skilled　man　with　a　collection　of　carefully　prepared　disinformation…which　was　precisely　what　he　was　about　to　do。　But　on　the　whole　they　were　a　threat　because　they　never　stopped　doing　what　it　was　they　did。　It　was　something　the　Foreign　Minister　never　allowed　himself　to　forget；　and　the　reason　he　did　not　hold　them　in　contempt。　Dealing　with　them　always　held　potential　danger。　Even　while　being　manipulated；　they　could　be　dangerous　in　their　quest　for　information。　If　only　the　rest　of　the　Politburo　understood。
〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；〃　he　began；　speaking　in　English。　〃I　will　be　making　a　brief　statement；　and　I　regret　that　I　cannot　answer　any　questions　at　this　time。　A　full　handout　will　be　given　to　everyone　as　you　leave…that　is；　I　think　they　are　ready　by　now…〃　He　gestured　to　a　man　at　the　back　of　the　room；　who　nodded　emphatically。　The　Foreign　Minister　arranged　his　papers　one　more　time　and　began　to　speak　with　the　precise　diction　for　which　he　was　known。
〃The　President　of　the　United　States　has　often　asked　for　'deeds　not　words'　in　the　quest　for　control　of　strategic　arms。
〃As　you　know；　and　to　the　disappointment　of　the　entire　world；　the　ongoing　arms　negotiations　in　Vienna　have　made　no　significant　progress　for　over　a　year；　with　each　side　blaming　the　other　for　the　lack　of　it。
〃It　is　well　known　by　peace…loving　people　the　world　over　that　the　Soviet　Union　has　never　wished　for　war；　and　that　only　a　madman　would　even　consider　nuclear　war　a　viable　policy　option　in　our　modern　world　of　overkill；　fallout；　and　'nuclear　winter。'　〃
〃Damn；〃　muttered　AP　bureau　chief　Patrick　Flynn。　The　Soviets　scarcely　acknowledged　〃nuclear　winter〃　and　had　never　mentioned　the　concept　in　so　formal　a　setting。　His　antennae　were　already　twitching　at　whatever　there　was　in　the　wind。
〃The　time　has　e　for　substantive　reductions　in　strategic　arms。　We　have　made　numerous；　serious；　sincere　proposals　for　real　arms　reductions；　and　despite　this　the　United　States　has　proceeded　with　the　development　and　deployment　of　its　destabilizing；　openly　offensive　weapons：　the　MX　first…strike　missile；　so　cynically　called　the　'Peacekeeper'；　the　advanced　Trident　D…5　first…strike　sea…launched　ballistic　missile；　two　separate　varieties　of　cruise　missiles　whose　characteristics　conspire　to　make　arms　control　verification　almost　totally　impossible；　and　of　course；　the　so…called　Strategic　Defense　Initiative；　which　will　take　offensive　strategic　weapons　into　space。　Such　are　America's　deeds。〃　He　looked　up　from　his　notes　and　spoke　with　irony。　〃And　through　it　all；　America's　pious　words　demand　Soviet　deeds。
〃Starting　tomorrow；　we　will　see　once　and　for　all　if　America's　words　are　to　be　believed　or　not。　Starting　tomorrow　we　will　see　how　great　a　difference　there　is　between　America's　words　about　peace　and　Soviet　deeds　for　peace。
〃Tomorrow；　the　Soviet　Union　will　put　on　the　table　at　Vienna　a　proposal　to　reduce　existing　arsenals　of　strategic　and　theater　nuclear　weapons　by　fifty　percent；　this　reduction　to　be　acplished　over　a　period　of　three　years　from　ratification　of　the　agreement；　subject　to　on…site　verification　conducted　by　third…party　inspection　teams　whose　position　will　be　agreed　upon　by　all　signatories。
〃Please　note　that　I　say　'all　signatories。'　The　Soviet　Union　invites　the　United　Kingdom；　the　French　Republic；　and〃…he　looked　up〃the　People's　Republic　of　China　to　join　us　at　the　negotiating　table。〃　The　explosion　of　flashbulbs　caused　him　to　look　away　for　a　moment。
〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；　please…〃　He　smiled；　holding　his　hand　up　to　shield　his　face。　〃These　old　eyes　are　not　up　to　such　abuse　as　this；　and　I　have　not　memorized　my　speech…unless　you　want　me　to　continue　in　Russian！〃
There　was　a　wave　of　laughter；　then　a　sprinkling　of　applause　at　the　jibe。　The　old　bastard　was　really　turning　on　the　charm；　Flynn　thought；　furiously　taking　notes。　This　was　potential　dynamite。　He　wondered　what　would　e　next；　and　he　especially　wondered　what　the　precise　wording　on　the　proposal　was。　Flynn　had　covered　arms　talks　before；　and　knew　all　too　well　that　general　descriptions　of　proposals　could　grossly　distort　the　nuts…and…bolts　details　of　the　real　issues　to　be　negotiated。　The　Russians　couldn't　be　this　open…they　just　couldn't　be。
〃To　proceed。〃　The　Foreign　Minister　blinked　his　eyes　clear。　〃We　have　been　accused　of　never　making　a　gesture　of　our　good　faith。　The　falsehood　of　the　charge　is　manifest；　but　this　evil　fiction　continues　in　the　West。　No　longer。　No　longer　will　anyone　have　cause　to　doubt　the　sincerity　of　the　Soviet　people's　quest　for　a　just　and　lasting　peace。
〃Beginning　today；　as　a　sign　of　good　faith　which　we　challenge　the　United　States　and　any　other　interested　nation　to　match；　the　Soviet　Union　will　remove　from　service　an　entire　class　of　nuclear…powered　missile　submarine。　These　submarines　are　known　to　the　West　as　the　Yankee　class。　We　call　them　something　else；　of　course；〃　he　said　with　an　ingenuous　grin　that　drew　another　wave　of　polite　laughter。　〃Twenty　of　the　vessels　are　presently　in　service；　each　carrying　twelve　sea…launched　ballistic　missiles。　All　active　members　of　the　class　are　assigned　to　the　Soviet　Northern　Fleet　based　on　the　Kola　Peninsula。　Beginning　today；　we　will　deactivate　these　vessels　at　a　rate　of　one　per　month。　As　you　know；　plete　deactivation　of　so　plex　a　machine　as　a　missile　submarine　requires　the　services　of　a　shipyard…the　missile　partment　must　be　physically　removed　from　the　body　of　the　vessel…and　so　these　vessels　cannot　be　fully　disarmed　overnight。　However；　to　make　the　honesty　of　our　intentions　undeniable；　we　invite　the　United　States　to　do　one　of　two　things：
〃First；　we　will　permit　a　selected　team　of　six　American　naval　officers　to　inspect　these　twenty　vessels　to　verify　that　their　missiles　tubes　have　been　filled　with　concrete　ballast　pending　removal　of　the　entire　missile　rooms　from　all　of　the　submarines。　In　return　for　this；　we　would　require　that　a　parable　inspection　visit　by　an　equal　number　of　Soviet　officers　to　American　yards　would　be　allowed　at　a　later　date　to　be　agreed　on。
〃Second；　as　an　alternative　should　the　United　States　be　unwilling　to　allow　reciprocal　verification　of　arms　reductions；　we　will　permit　another　group　of　six　officers　to　perform　this　service；　these　officers　to　be　from　a　countryor　countries…upon　which　the　United　States　and　the　Soviet　Union　can　agree　within　the　next　thirty　days。　A　team　from　such　neutral　countries　as　Sweden　or　India　would　be　acceptable　in　principle　to　the　Soviet　Union。
〃Ladies　and　gentlemen；　the　time　has　e　to　put　an　end　to　the　arms　race。　I　will　not　repeat　all　of　the　flowery　rhetoric　we've　all　heard　over　the　past　two　generations。　We　all　know　the　threat　that　these　ghastly　weapons　represent　to　every　nation。　Let　no　one　ever　say　again　that　the　government　of　the　Soviet　Union　has　not　done　its　part　to　reduce　the　danger　of　war。　Thank　you。〃
The　room　suddenly　fell　silent　but　for　the　sound　of　motor…driven　still　cameras。　The　Western　press　representatives　assigned　to　their　respective　Moscow　bureaus　were　among　the　best　in　their　profession。　Uniformly　bright；　uniformly　ambitious；　uniformly　cynical　about　what　they　found　in　Moscow　and　the　conditions　under　which　they　were　forced　to　work；　all　were　stunned　to　silence。
〃Goddamn；〃　muttered　Flynn　after　a　full　ten　seconds。
〃One　must　admire　your　understatement；　old　boy；〃　agreed　Reuters　correspondent　William　Calloway。　〃Wasn't　it　your　Wilson　who　spoke　of　open　covenants　openly　arrived　at？〃
〃Yeah；　my　granddad　covered　that　peace　conference。　Remember　how　well　it　worked　out？〃　Flynn　grimaced；　watching　the　Foreign　Minister　depart；　smiling　at　the　cameras。　〃I　want　to　see　the　handout。　Want　to　ride　back　with　me？〃
〃Yes　on　both。〃
It　was　a　bitterly　cold　day　in　Moscow。　Snow　piles　were　heaped　at　the　roadsides。　The　sky　was　a　frigid　crystal　blue。　And　the　car's　heater　didn't　work。　Flynn　drove　while　his　friend　read　aloud　through　the　handout。　The　draft　treaty　proposal　took　up　nineteen　annotated　pages。　The　Reuters　correspondent　was　a　Londoner　who　had　begun　as　a　police　reporter；　and　since　covered　assignments　all　over　the　world。　He　and　Flynn　had　met　many　years　before　at　the　famous　Caravelle　Hotel　in　Saigon；　and　shared　drinks　and　typewriter　ribbons　on　and　off　for　more　than　two　decades。　In　the　face　of　a　Russian　winter；　they　remembered　the　oppressive　heat　of　Saigon　with　something　akin　to　nostalgia。
〃It's　bloody　fair；〃　Calloway　said　wonderingly；　his　breath　giving　ghostly　substance　to　his　words。　〃They　propose　a　builddown　with　elimination　of　many　existing　weapons；　allowing　both　sides　to　replace　obsolete　launchers；　both　sides　to　reach　a　total　of　five　thousand　deliverable　warheads；　that　number　to　remain　stable　for　five　years　after　the　three…year　reduction　period。　There　is　a　separate　proposal　to　negotiate　plete　removal　of　'heavy'　missiles；　replacing　them　with　mobile　missiles；　but　to　limit　missile　flight　tests　to　a　fixed　number　per　year…〃　He　flipped　that　page　and　rapidly　scanned　the　remainder。　〃Nothing　in　the　draft　treaty　about　your　Star　Wars　research　。　。　。　？　Didn't　he　mention　that　in　his　statement？　Patrick；　old　son；　this　is；　as　you　say；　dynamite。　This　could　as　easily　have　been　written　in　Washington。　It　will　take　months　to　work　out　all　the　technical　points；　but　this　is　a　bloody　serious；　and　bloody　generous；　proposal。〃
〃Nothing　about　Star　Wars？〃　Flynn　frow