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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 27, 1981
Of course, it would be well-intentioned, aimed at preserving Western
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civilization, etc. But then so was the American intervention in Vietnam....
The unwelcome truth is that few in Western Europe have any confidence in
the American ability to undertake that kind of job without doing more harm
than good."
The Americans, West Europeans feel, are totally naive to think that U.S.
or Western allied armies could, in a mideast outbreak, sweep in and secure
the oil fields and operate them without local support. This apparently is
one of the key premises upon which the so-called "rapid deployment force"
is based. Circles in West Europe believe such a concept is not only
impractical, but if ever attempted, would lead to a ruin more swift and
disastrous than an uncontested Soviet takeover of key Middle East oil
suppliers.
Because of these growing doubts, there is a growing mood in West Europe
to "accommodate" the Soviet Union in any threat from the latter to the
Middle East, rather than relying on U.S. power and its uncertain conse
quences. It's not exactly the old "Better Red than dead" syndrome, Wors
thorne observes, rather more one of "Better Red than bankrupt."
Worsthorne concludes his March 1, 1981 Sunday Telegraph analysis by say
ing: "Oil fear reaches parts that others don't, from where a formidable
neutralist virus is beginning to spread."
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau