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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JULY 16, 1982
PAGE 12
would risk wrecking the Alliance••••If that is indeed the case,
we must conclude that the future of the Alliance is quite bleak.
For there is no way of reconciling the logic of the detente that
has flourished in Europe since the early 1970's with the logic of
an American policy that now seeks to constrain wherever possible
the growth of Soviet power. Caught between these two opposing
forces, the Alliance will eventually founder••••
The general conclusion that forces itself on the observer is that
the transatlantic compact has not held. The critics are largely
justified in their visions of a dark future, whatever the merits
of their indictment. The Alliance is visibl� unraveling today,
and the rising teme<? of its disintegration£!!! fail� impress
only the most determined of optimists••••
Whatever the proper answers to these questions, there is little
basis for optimism•••• The predicament i!!i!, great reality poses
today could be resolved�� Western Europe determined to assume
!n
!.!.!!
greater responsibility for its� security. But given
the recent weakening of ties among European states and the grow
ing disparity between their military power and the power of the
Soviet Onion, these prospects appear even more remote at present
than they did in the past.
Who will awaken Euro� to provide for the means of its own defense once the
Alliance inevitably breaks up? Space does not permit some interesting
comments from Franz Josef Strauss--reputedly Bonn's next Finance Minister
should the conservatives regain power--regarding the nuclear defense of
Europe. We'll try to print some of his remarks in a future column.
--Gene H. Hogberg, News Bureau