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Coming._ ..____
ANEWEUROPE
BETWEEN
THE SUPERPOWERS
by
Gene H. Hogberg
Trends are now underway that, when fully ripe, will radically
alter the polit ical landscape of Europe.
1
N
~E~TERN.
EuROPE,
.op–
pos t tiO n
I S
grow1ng
towa rd Ame r ica 's new
tough stance vis-a-vis Mos–
cow. Neutralism and ant i–
Americanism- or at least
anti-Reaganism- are on the
u pswi ng.
At the same time, in Eastern
Europe, Poland 's astou nding
revolu tion threatens to shake
the Soviet Union's postwar sat–
ellite empi re to its founda–
t ions.
Where are these trends lead–
ing? Wil l the two hal ves of
Europe ever meet ?
If
so, what
then?
React lon to Reagan
For years Wes t Europeans com–
plained about a lack of leadership
on the part of the United States.
Washington's policies, especially
during the Carter administration,
often changed unpredictably.
I ronica lly, the new, determined
administration in Washingto n
hasn' t solved the leadership c risis.
Rather, it is meeting with su rpris–
ing resis tance on the other side of
October / November 1981
the Atlantic. l nftu ential politicaJ
circles on the Continent complain
about President Ronald Reagan's
alleged uncompromising, hard-line
approach toward Moscow.
Mr . Reaga n 's s uddenl y an–
nounced decision in early Au–
gust-while most Europeans were
on vacation- to put the controver–
sia! neutron bomb into full pro–
duction, only added more fue! to
the fire of transat la nt ic suspi–
cion.
The neu tron bomb, of course, is
nothing new. I t had been earlier
proposed for production and even–
tual deployme nt in Europe. How–
ever, after securing West Germa–
ny 's critica! approval , former
President Carter abruptly re–
versed his decision in Apri l, 1978.
He decided not to order it into
production, he said , on "moral
grounds." Soviet propaganda had
labeled the bomb a "capitalist"
weapon- one designed "to kili
people, not destroy property."
Soviet concerns, then and now,
are understandable. The neutron or
"enhanced-radiation" bomb is a
purely defensive, limited range
weapon designed specifically to
thwart a Warsaw Pact armored
assault on Western Europe. The
weapon, once available, would neu–
tralize the four-to-one tank advan–
tage the Soviet-led forces have over
NATO defenders.
Predictably, the Soviet Union
heatedly denounced Mr. Reagan 's
decision. But tbe President dis–
missed the Soviet objections in his
characteristically direct manner.
" I can understand their an–
guish," said the U.S. President.
" They are squealing like they are
sitting on a sharp nail , simply
because we now are showing the
world that we are not going to Jet
them get to the point of dominance
where they can someday issue to
the Free World an ultimatum of
'Surre nder or die.' And they don't
like that."
Gene r at lon Gap
The problem for Washington is
that many in Europe increasingly
do not agree with what they claim
is Mr. Reagan 's " dangerous anti–
Soviet rhetoric.' ' This is especially
true among young people.
The po liti cians in Weste rn
Europe are dealing witb a genera–
tion that was born, for the most
part, after the Berlin blockade of
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