attention from the massive build-up of Soviet strategic offensive forces during the past 15 years, a build-up which is unprecedented. Perhaps they are seeking to draw attention away from the Soviet strategic ballistic missile defence programmes. Indeed, one might conclude from the polemical statements we have heard that the Soviet Union has no programme comparable to the United States research programme. Such a conclusion would be incorrect. The military doctrine of the Soviet Union emphasizes that offensive and defensive forces must interact closely to achieve Soviet aims in any military conflict. The Soviet Union is heavily involved in strategic defence, including operational systems as well as research programmes. In fact, over the last two decades, the Soviet Union has spent roughly as much on strategic defence as on strategic offence — and those strategic offensive expenditures have been enormous. There is only one operational ABM system in the entire world; this is the system that the Soviet Union has deployed around Moscow. This system is currently being upgraded, with a likely completion date of sometime around 1987» The Soviet Union also has a national air defence force, a large political leadership survival programme, and nationwide civil defence forces and programmes. Soviet strategic defence programmes are not restricted to the more traditional approaches. For many years, the Soviet Union has been conducting research into advanced technologies for strategic defence, including technologies in support of high-energy lasers, particle-beam weapons, radio-frequency weapons, and kinetic energy weapons. .This research is similar to that in the United States SDI programme. How is it that the Soviet Union and its allies suggest that the United States programme is somehow wrong or destabilizing when the Soviet Union has a long-standing programme that does much the same thing? The United States delegation believes that the polemical approach to outer 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a diplomatic statement or a briefing on the strategic defense programs of the United States and the Soviet Union. It discusses the build-up of Soviet strategic offensive forces, the Soviet Union's strategic defense programs, and the similarity between the Soviet Union's programs and the United States' Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program. The text is likely intended to clarify the situation and counter the Soviet Union's criticisms of the US program.

**Category**
Science and Technology, International Relations