‘Symbol of a Shambles’

Your articles on nuclear weapons and “Star Wars” have been very informative but I disagree with your editorial (Dec. 22), “Symbol of a Shambles.”

You assert that a nuclear test ban cannot be declared, but must be negotiated through a long and complex process. But, provisions of a model Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty have been established for decades; I believe only the frequency of inspections remains unsettled.

Also, the Soviet moratorium on nuclear testing (since Aug. 6, 1985) has been their unilateral declaration. It has been a constructive and workable policy. We should participate in this moratorium. The Russians can afford to extend it indefinitely, without jeopardizing their security, and so can we.

The complexities you mention, of verifying test yields, apply only to “limited” testing, not to a test ban.

I do not believe that new nuclear weapons, especially the nuclear-pumped X-ray laser for Star Wars, can be developed by simulation, so a test ban would have real benefits for peace, by keeping the nuclear weapons race away from outer space.

I suggest that we don’t need “improved” nuclear weapons. Improving our security will come instead through confidence-building arms control programs.

By banning nuclear tests instead of merely limiting them, we can:

--Simplify verification.

--Demonstrate that we can do business with the Russians.

--Take a first step to halting the nuclear arms race.

DICK HEISER

Los Angeles