Legislators praised Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev's announcement of a unilateral troop cut but said they want to see the words backed up with action and renewed East-West talks to reduce troop levels in Europe. With Congress out of session, few legislators were in the Capitol and most reacted cautiously, saying they wanted to see more details of how the Soviets will carry out the plan made public Wednesday by Gorbachev at the United Nations. They also noted that the Soviets now have a large numerical edge in troops and various categories of weapons in Europe. Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, the incoming Senate majority leader, said he welcomed Gorbachev's statement but added, ``while these proposals are commendable, they must be considered in view of overall levels of forces in Europe and the offensive structure of Soviet forces.'' Mitchell said he hopes the announcement will lead to ``the reinvigoration'' of long-stalled efforts to negotiate cuts in military strength in Europe. House Speaker Jim Wright, D-Texas, called the speech ``certainly the most positive signal from Moscow in 70 years, much more positive because words at last are being accompanied by deeds.'' ``We must not abandon caution, but neither should we slam the door in the face of opportunity,'' Wright said in a statement. Senate Republican leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., said, ``Mr. Gorbachev has promised a lot, but can he deliver? Only his actions _ not just words _ will tell the world whether his U.N. speech becomes a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift or just another stocking stuffer. ``If we really see such cutbacks in Eastern Europe, then we might indeed be seeing a good-faith first step toward real conventional force parity; our negotiators in Vienna will be insisting on no less,'' said Dole. Sen. Tim Wirth, D-Colo., a member of the Armed Services Committee, said, ``we need to bear in mind that we in the West have heard about a number of interesting proposals from Gorbachev and other top Soviet officials. ``But what we haven't seen is any real change in Soviet military forces,'' said Wirth. ``What we have seen is largely improvements in Soviet forces.'' Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, was the most euphoric. ``Gorbachev's speech could be the end of the Cold War, the end of the arms race (and) the end of the danger of nuclear war,'' he said. ``Of course, we need deeds, not words. We have to see what the Soviets actually do.'' The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said, ``I would urge a note of caution.'' Even if the Soviets go ahead with the promised 10 percent troop reduction, Warner said, they will have ``two and one-half times as many tanks, three and one-half times as many artillery pieces.'' ``It's too early to tell exactly the impact of these dramatic announcements,'' he said. They may simply eliminate older, less capable weapons. ``The Soviet Union has quite a collection of antiquated military equipment.'' Rep. Les Aspin, D-Wis., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Gorbachev has ``done more than anyone thought he could do politically. ``His cuts are dramatic and significant _ especially that he will make them unilaterally.'' But Aspin warned: ``Don't be distracted by all the dramatic numbers you're hearing. We don't fight wars by the numbers.'' Gorbachev promised to reorganize the Soviet military, Aspin noted, explaining that ``a reorganization that removes the Soviet offensive capability declaws the Russian bear and is far more important than numbers on a chart.'' Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Gorbachev's statements ``profoundly welcome.'' ``If the Soviet government follows through on Gorbachev's pledge, this will challenge the United States and its allies to act imaginatively to start a similar process of arms reduction,'' said Pell. Pell said the administration should ``take advantage of the openings created by Gorbachev's speech to accelerate the momentum of arms control negotiations on conventional, as well as nuclear, weapons.''
