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information and sensi tive issues of
East-West relations.
As a result of the first meeting
of the foreign ministers of the
WEU states, on June 12 in París,
30-year-old rcst r ictions on West
German manufact ure of long–
range missiles and s trategic bom–
bers were scrapped.
A communiqué issued June 28
after a follow-up meeting in Loo–
don said representatives of the sev–
en nations decidcd unanimously to
cancel "the outdated remaining
rcstric tions ... concerning the
manufacture of conventional arma–
ments by the Federal Republic of
Germany." The move was viewed
as having primari ly política] impact
since Germany has said it doesn' t
intend to start making strategic
missiles or bombers.
Which Way Amer ica
Thc road that Europe takes in thc
future will largely be a result of a
reaction to trends in the United
S tates.
1n the field of cconomics, the
Europeans are becoming frightened
at what sorne cal l the " Jamerican
challenge"- the high-tech blitz of
the United States and Japan. To pre–
pare for the challengc, the Common
4
Market leaders know that they mus t
put internal squabblings to an end.
Europeans are also concerned that a
changing America sees its future
more as a Pacific Basin power.
In
the security arena, nearly all
European strategic thinkers also
envision an eventual U.S. reduc–
tion- if not total pullout-of U.S.
military forces in Europe.
No greater proof of this even–
tuality was the speed with which a
troop reduction proposal spread
through the U.S. Senate this past
June. lt called for a phaseout of
about one third of the more than
300,000 U.S. troops committed to
NATO defenses in Europe unless
the Europeans contributed more
funds to their own NATO commit–
ments.
The measure was narrowly
defeated, but only because of a lot
of senatorial arm- twis ting by Presi–
dent Ronald Reagan and urgent
transatlantic pleas from top offi–
cials in Europe.
President Reagan was especially
alarmed over the measure. Only
two weeks previously he had deliv–
cred a s tirring message on the
beaches of Normandy, commemo–
rating the 40th anniversary of
0 -
day. In his remarks, Mr. Reagan
At
the
Fontainebleau summit, the 10
beads
of state or government took
time from their busy sc.bedule to dine,
above pboto, a t the Bas-Breau lnn at
Barbizon in Seine et Mame. ln pboto,
opposite page, Britain's P rime
Minister Margaret Tbatcber and West
German CbanceUor Helmut KobJ sha re
a ligbt moment. Most significant
outcome of summit was last-minute
agreement between Britain, West
Germany and France to settle
long-standing dispute over size of
Britain's payments to the EC budget,
wbicb bad threatened
the
Community's
existence. President Mitterrand
received praise for skillfully handling
the " Britisb problem."
s tressed that America had " learned
bitter lesso ns from two wor ld
wars," meaning that it was better
to keep forces on the Continent in
peacetime indefinitely than havc to
send a mighty army to deliver
Europe from totalitar ian bondagc.
European leaders are "getting
the message," however. Such troop
withd rawal plans wi ll be rei ntro–
duced time and again as America
and Europe increasingly go thei r
separate ways.
As a resul t, President Mitterrand,
Chancellor Kohl and others have
The
PLAIN TRUTH