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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 21, 1982
PAGE 9
feeling . further, the Soviets, Cuba, and their allies already�
exploiting the "ganging �
11
of the Anglo-Saxon powers•...The
effort by Washington to draw a line between Moscow-Cuban adher
ents and a wide diversity of democratic and anti-Communist ele
ments in the hemisphere has now been blown apart.
Britain has received solid support so far from fellow Anglo-Saxon power,
Australia--again revealing the "who's-for-me-and-who's-against-me" divi
sion taking place. The other day, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
pointed up the danger to the entire free world alliance structure should
the British, in going to war, fail to receive whatever help is necessary
from its allies. Again, from our REUTERS news service:
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser tonight said he believed
Britain would expect the major members of the Western Alliance to
provide "whatever help is required" if the Falklands crisis
resulted in a war. He told members of the Foreign Policy Associ
ation that failure to resolve the crisis in a manner satisfactory
to Britain would severely damage the Alliance.
"I believe in those circumstances (of open hostilities], they
will be expecting the major members of the Western Alliance to
provide whatever help is required," he said in response to
questions after delivering a speech to the Association.
He
added: "If the matter is not resolved in a manner satisfactory
to the United Kingdom! believe the consequences for the Western
Alliance will be immeasurable, incalculable, far-reaching and
enormously damaging."
But he said that Western democracies had no option but to make
certain that aggression did not succeed in the Falkland Islands
and that Argentine troops were withdrawn by "one means or
another." Otherwise, he said, other countries would be encour
aged to use military means to settle territorial disputes.
The possibility of having to come to Britain's aid more directly in the
likely event of an all-out war in the South Atlantic--which would ignite
anti-Yankee recriminations--has U.S. leaders very concerned. Notice this
from the May 24, 1982 issue of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT:
Some observers even cited the danger that a setback for the
British could present Washington with the choice of going to
their rescue or leaving a close ally in the lurch.
If either of Britain's two aircraft carriers or other essential
warships were sunk, an influential British journal,
the
ECONOMIST, asked: "Would America conceivably fill such a naval
gap?"
It was this somber picture that prompted the Reagan
Administration to throw its full weight behind the mid-May drive
at the u.N. for a negotiated settlement of the conflict••••
Two points are conceded in virtually all assessments of future
U.S. relations with Latin America:
--Direct U.S.
would inflame
military intervention in the Falklands conflict
Latin opinion to a dangerous level.
As one