Transfer of High-Technology to the Soviet Union. A Predicament for the United States

摘要

Through reading Western open-source literature and by international purchases of U.S. computers and electronics, the Soviets have been able to modernize their military forces. This raises the question, Should U.S. technology be in the public domain and available for exploitation by the Soviet Union. The scope of Soviet information gathering operations raises concerns about the true Russian motivation for detente. Complicating the technology-transfer issue has been the prevailing attitude that parity promotes stability among world powers. As a result of this philosophy, the United States has found itself restrained from acquiring a significant technology advantage over the Soviet Union. The U.S. finds itself in the predicament of both needing a technology edge yet being unable to have a significant one. Thus, ensuring that the Soviets are not able to apply U.S. technology too quickly becomes an important aspect of the technology-transfer solution. Although technology controls are expensive and require the commitment of the American public, they are necessary. Should the Soviets gain technological parity, then the U.S. would be compelled to match Soviet conventional forces to ensure that Russian expansionism is equally restrained. Keywords: Information Exchange, Export Control, Electronic Intelligence, Military Intelligence.