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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JULY 2, 1982
PAGE 14
We are all involved; we all have conventional forces ••..For the
fundamental risk to peace is not J:h!, existence of weapons of
oart1cular types.
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is the disposition 2!! the part of�
states to impose change on other�
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resortin � to force. This is
where we require action••.•A.nd our
key
need is not for promises
against first use of this or that kind of military weapon: such
promises can never be dependable amid the stresses of war.••.
Let� face the �lity. The springs of war lie in the � eadiness
to resort to force against other nations, and not 1n "arms
races," whether real or imaginary. Aggressors do not start wars
because an adversary has built up his own strength. They start
wars because they believe they can gain more by going to war than
by remaining at peace.
The causes which have produced war in the past have not disap
peared today, as we know to our cost. The lesson is that disarma
� and good intentions 2.!! their� do not insurepeace ••••Mere
words, speeches and resolutions will not prevent them.
The
security of our country and its friends can be insured only by
deterrence and by adequate strength--adequate when compared with
that of a potential aggressor.
Arms control alone cannot remove the possibility of war. Never
theless, the limitation and reduction of armaments can still do a
great deal••••Decisive action is needed,!!£! j� declarations
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freezes.
I welcome the radical proposals made by the United
States for substantially cutting etrategic weapons, and for elim
inating a whola class of intermediate-range systems (the zero
option) ••••
Through all these many negotiations there
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critical factor
--verification. How can we be sure that what is said will be
done, will be done? Where national •ecurity is at $take, we can
not take agreements� trust, especially when� states ar� so
secretive and such closed societies. Agreements which cannot be
verified can be worse than useless: they can be a new source of
danger, fear and mistru� Ver1f1cation is not an optional extra
in disarmament and arms eontrol.
It is the heart of the
mattee....
- --
-- -
Mr. President, the message I bring is practical and realis
tic••••We . believe that�� caused not
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armaments� !?_Y.
the ambitions of aggressors and that what tempts them is the
prospect of easy advantage and quick victory•...It is not merely
a mistaken analysis but an evasion of responsibility to suppose
that we can prevent the horrors of war by focusing on its instru
ments. These�� often symptoms than causes.
No doubt that the Soviets, who know that they were the ones Mrs. Thatcher
had in mind when she talked about "promises against first use" (a recent
Gromyko pledge) and "good intentions" squirmed a bit. It reminds one of the
time Mrs. Thatcher told an audience that "the Russians call me 'the Iron
Lady' (pause) that I am!"
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau