THE CFE TREATY - AN ARMS REDUCTIONS DINOS AUR

This article considers the relevance of the CFE Treaty in a new intern ational setting. The CFE Treaty was developed as a means to strengthen stability and security during the Cold War in the face of overwhelmin g Warsaw Pact forces. Stability was to be achieved mainly through the implementation of three sets of measures: (i) numerical parity through force reductions, (ii) regional security through establishment of zon al limits, and (iii) lowering of force readiness through permanent sto rage of equipment. The article argues that most of these consideration s have become irrelevant with the end of the Cold War. The zonal regim e, especially, is of little interest as regards security in Central Eu rope, while it works counter to the ability to manage crises and confl ict in other regions. Russian complaints have focused on the flank Lim itations, which are considered in detail. A main conclusion is that wh ile many of the structural measures have become irrelevant, CFE's achi evements in openness and transparency may have a more enduring worth.