Rest in peace.
Edward Rowny
An adviser to five Presidents who helped win the Cold War.
The Editorial BoardDec. 18, 2017 7:21 p.m. ET
By
The Editorial Board
U.S. Ambassador Edward L. Rowny (left), shakes hands with his Soviet counterpart Victor Karpov before for their meeting on the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks in Geneva, June 29, 1982. Photo: Vaterlaus/Associated Press
It is an irony of history that Edward Rowny died on the eve of the release of President Trump’s national security strategy. Rowny, who was 100, sat at the center of formulating strategy for five Presidents. He retired in 1990 as an Army lieutenant general.
Rowny never really retired from grand strategy, and we encountered him at a dinner in Washington some months ago. Going over to his table to say hello—pay homage, really—Rowny’s sight wasn’t good but he brightened at the mention of the arms-control negotiations between the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War. “Those were some days,” he said, no small thanks to him.
Rowny was the U.S. representative to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, or SALT, for Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter. At stake were the huge nuclear arsenals of the world’s two superpowers. Rowny believed in arms control, but he became a leading critic of the arms-control process. His criticism was that too many people were too eager to sign agreements despite the Soviet Union’s repeated violations. In protest he resigned his position during the Carter Presidency, returning to advise Reagan, who shared his worldview.
Rowny was a patriot who fought the Nazis in Italy and helped Douglas MacArthur plan the Inchon landing during the Korean War. The people shaping Donald Trump’s strategic initiatives—toward North Korea, China and Russia—know who Ed Rowny was. This is a good moment for all involved to reflect on what he contributed to their trade: an unfailingly clear-eyed view of the nature of America’s adversaries.
Appeared in the December 19, 2017, print edition.
Edward Rowny
An adviser to five Presidents who helped win the Cold War.
The Editorial BoardDec. 18, 2017 7:21 p.m. ET
By
The Editorial Board
U.S. Ambassador Edward L. Rowny (left), shakes hands with his Soviet counterpart Victor Karpov before for their meeting on the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks in Geneva, June 29, 1982. Photo: Vaterlaus/Associated Press
It is an irony of history that Edward Rowny died on the eve of the release of President Trump’s national security strategy. Rowny, who was 100, sat at the center of formulating strategy for five Presidents. He retired in 1990 as an Army lieutenant general.
Rowny never really retired from grand strategy, and we encountered him at a dinner in Washington some months ago. Going over to his table to say hello—pay homage, really—Rowny’s sight wasn’t good but he brightened at the mention of the arms-control negotiations between the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War. “Those were some days,” he said, no small thanks to him.
Rowny was the U.S. representative to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, or SALT, for Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter. At stake were the huge nuclear arsenals of the world’s two superpowers. Rowny believed in arms control, but he became a leading critic of the arms-control process. His criticism was that too many people were too eager to sign agreements despite the Soviet Union’s repeated violations. In protest he resigned his position during the Carter Presidency, returning to advise Reagan, who shared his worldview.
Rowny was a patriot who fought the Nazis in Italy and helped Douglas MacArthur plan the Inchon landing during the Korean War. The people shaping Donald Trump’s strategic initiatives—toward North Korea, China and Russia—know who Ed Rowny was. This is a good moment for all involved to reflect on what he contributed to their trade: an unfailingly clear-eyed view of the nature of America’s adversaries.
Appeared in the December 19, 2017, print edition.
