Under repeated questioning, Mr. Reagan stood by his established position that the deficit is a product of too much spending - non-military spending, of course.

The same capricious politics are likely to raid non-military international spending or exploit trade tensions for short-run advantage, all with insidious effect.

But the peace tax fund, unlike the general fund, could only be used for non-military spending.

Freedman says the non-military spending in Iraq was worth about one tenth of the military spending.

The spending cut would fall half in the military budget and half in non-military spending.

Since August 1985, estimated outlays for military, non-military and discretionary spending and interest payments have fallen, while spending on entitlement programs has changed little, he noted.

The President warned against converting reduced military spending into greater non-military spending.

By the way, non-military discretionary spending as a percentage of G.D.P. is now at its lowest level since 1962.

Without those cuts, non-military spending would have to be reduced, instead, which was tactically unacceptable to any of the Government's parties.

The President would pile up cuts in non-military discretionary spending in the last two years of the plan.