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Rusk JJ, Interview with Dean Rusk, circa 1985

Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia
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00:00:04 - Introduction

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Partial Transcript: This is an interview with Dean Rusk.

Segment Synopsis: Richard Rusk introduces the interview tape.

Keywords: Dorina Dallmeyer; Tom Schoenbaum

00:00:17 - Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

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Partial Transcript: At the beginning of the Kennedy administration, President Kennedy and the Congress established the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency independent of the State Department and the Defense Department, but within the general framework of the State Department.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about the establishment of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency which would be independent of the State Department and Defense Department.

Keywords: Arms Control Disarmament Agency; Committee of Principles

00:07:14 - Test Ban Treaty

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Partial Transcript: Okay, I want to start, first of all, with some questions on the Test Ban Treaty.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about the negotiations of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and what it entails. There were some disagreements on underground testing.

Keywords: Averell Harriman; Berlin Crisis; Bill Foster; Cuban Missile Crisis; Khruschev; President Kennedy; Soviet Union; Test Ban Treaty; United Nations; underground testing

00:18:35 - Statements on China

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Partial Transcript: During that time--this is a related question--during that time you, in 1963, were widely quoted on several occasions in connection with China, and at that time there was the incursion that China made over the Indian border which you condemned very forcibly.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about the boundary problem between India and China. He believes that problem was unrelated to the arms control matter.

Keywords: Arms Control and Disarmament Agency; China; India; State Department; border issues; communist China

00:22:42 - Nonproliferation negotiation / Nuclear-free zones

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Partial Transcript: Well maybe we can move to the, another treaty, another negotiation: the nonproliferation negotiation.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about the US and Soviet Union's agreement that it is important to prevent nuclear capabilities from falling into the wrong hands. Rusk later talks about the establishments of nuclear-free zones in Latin America and many other regions in the world.

Keywords: Averell Harriman; Latin America; Mexico; Non-proliferation Treaty; Soviet Union; Treaty of Tlateloco; William Foster; non-nuclear posers; nucelar-free zone; nuclear powers

00:30:03 - Antiballistic Missiles / Star Wars

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Partial Transcript: Another area of interesting development in these arms control matters during the sixties was the ABM [Antiballistic Missile] problem.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about Antiballistic Missile Systems. He mentions how the US believed that if the Soviet Union and the US implemented Antiballistic Missile Systems, then both countries would build up nuclear arms to overload the systems. Rusk later talks about Star Wars, and the inaccuracy of missiles.

Keywords: ABM; ABM Treaty; Antiballistic missiles; Glassboro; Gromyko; Kosygin; President Johnson; Robert McNamara; Soviet Union; Star Wars; missiles

00:41:03 - Nuclear Research

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Partial Transcript: What kind of agreement, just thinking out loud, could we come to about Star Wars that--isn't it hard to--Obviously the decision to deploy is, perhaps, fifteen years in the future under even Reagan's scenario.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about how nuclear research was not banned in treaties. He talks about the importance in research because the Soviets are most likely doing it too. Rusk expresses that it is hard to know what developments would pay off.

Keywords: ABM Treaty; George Shultz; Gromyko; Reagan; ideas; laboratories; lasers; particle beams; research; weapons

00:46:14 - Complaints about the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

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Partial Transcript: What about some reported dissatisfaction among non-nuclear countries that are signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, that the United States and the Soviet Union have not done enough in maintaining their treaty commitment under the article in the treaty?

Segment Synopsis: Rusk addresses the complaints from non-nuclear countries about how the US and the Soviet Union need to control their nuclear weapons. Rusk talks about how he delivered a speech at the Geneva Conference about how countries should give thought to arms limitations in their specific regions. His speech fell on deaf ears.

Keywords: ANZUS Treaty; Africa; Australia; Geneva Conference on Disarmament; India; Latin America; New Zealand; Nigeria; Pakistan; UN General Assembly; non-nuclear countries

00:52:40 - Strategic arms limitations areas / Negotiations with Russia

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Partial Transcript: Well, I wanted to start a little of the discussion about the strategic arms limitations areas.

Segment Synopsis: Rusk talks about how he does not like to link every international problem with arms control measures, but sometimes they cannot be separated. He talks about the complications with the first SALT Treaty because the day before the talks, the Soviet Union marched their troops into Czechoslovakia. And the SALT II Treaty was ruined when Soviet forces went into Afghanistan. Rusk later talks about the negotiations with the Russians on arms limitations, and he talks about the goals of the SALT talks.

Keywords: Afghanistan; Ambassador Dobrynin; Czechoslovakia; Leningrad; Moscow; SALT; SALT II; Soviets; strategic arms limitations treaty; the Soviet Union