Workshop Report: The Soviet Threat in the 1980s

Abstract

The mission of the Workshop on the Soviet Threat was to examine and assess the Soviet threat to Europe in the 1980s. In order to provide subsequent workshops with sufficient insight into Soviet military policy and planning, the participants described and analyzed the central factors that would bear upon a Soviet decision to go to war, the Soviet military posture in Europe, and the character of Soviet military operations following the outbreak of hostilities. It was evident from the earliest discussion that to describe the Soviet threat solely in terms of gross military capabilities or Soviet operational planning would be inadequate for the purpose of conveying the complex nature of Soviet decision-making for war in Europe. Soviet strategy, posture of forces, and tactical operations were discussed both in the broader context of political-military doctrine and objectives as defined by Soviet leaders, and in the context of Soviet views of the utility of variegated military power.