Edward L. Rowny
agree to only a ten-hour session, insisting that he had to get back to the Soviet
Embassy in Washington to attend to "other business." It was not clear what "other
business" was more important than meeting with Bush. It may have been that
Gorbachev was at that time having difficulty with the politburo and army officials.
But for whatever reason, Gorbachev was now playing hard to get when it came to
one-on-one informal sessions.
Retirement
Q ..
Didn't you decide to retire in June 1990 after the Washington summit?
A ..
Yes. After the Washington summit, I felt that my usefulness to the President as
an arms control advisor was coming to an end. There had been no clear-cut
differences between the President and myself on major issues, yet the general trend
of events was not to my liking. The way in which I was required to give my
advice was tolerable, but only barely so. I felt that I was no longer a major player
on the President's team and that my views were not being taken sufficiently into
account. I went to see John Sununu, the President's chief of staff, and asked his
advice. He told me he was not surprised at how I felt, adding that he marvelled
I had continued to function under such difficult conditions for so long. He said that
Secretary Baker was Bush's principal, and at times only, advisor on arms control
and that Baker overshadowed the other three principal advisors: National Security
Advisor Brent Scowcroft, Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, and General Colin
Powell. When I asked Sununu if there was some way I could improve my
situation, he said he thought not.
I said that under the circumstances I would submit my resignation, effective June
30, 1990. I told Sununu that I would not make a big issue of my resignation, or
take it to the press. He said he thought this was best; if I were to indicate that I
was resigning in protest over the way I was being treated, the administration would
simply paper things over. But in the long-run, he said, nothing would change. On
my last day in office, Marlin Fitzwater made a simple announcement that I had
resigned. The reporters asked him several questions, but he referred them to me.
I was asked if I was resigning in protest or because of major policy differences
with the Bush administration. Since I agreed with Sununu that airing my
unhappiness about how I was being used would serve no useful purpose, I said only
that I thought it was time for me to leave. President Bush's action was predictable.
He sent me a nice letter, thanking me for "the contribution I had made to U.S.
arms control policies.
Q ..
What happened to START after you resigned?
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