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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JULY 16, 1982
PAGE 9
On both sides of the Atlantic, rhetoric over the pipeline is flying hot and
heavy. All the while, insiders report that some sort of compromise may be
in the offing. Three leading Europeans came to Washington this week in an
attempt to defuse the issue. How this might happen is rather curious, and
reveals the rather ridiculous corner the Reagan Administration has painted
itself into. It is said that Washington is looking for any sign of reduced
political oppression in Poland, real 2.£ imagined, to justify a softening of
the U.S. pipeline position. (It was the crackdown on the Solidarity move
ment in Poland last December which led to the original sanctions.) The
Soviets, feeling they are gaining a greater influence in Western Europe,
are not likely to ease Mr. Reagan down off the hook.
The WALL STREET JOURNAL has reported often on the pipeline row in recent
issues. In its July 15 edition, WSJ authors Art Pine and David Brand wrote:
On both sides of the Atlantic, the rhetoric sounds more like that
of enemies than of allies. Castigating the Europeans, a senior
Reagan Administration adviser in Washington says, "We're dealing
here with a bunch of spoiled children."
U.S. actions, a top
Common Market official complains, are "not only illegal but a
threat to jobs in Europe."
About the only thing that the two sides do agree on is that their
mounting economic disputes have pushed U.S. relations with West
ern Europe to their lowest point in recent memory. There is a
growing fear that economic retaliation by either side could
seriously weaken the Western Alliance••••
For U.S.-European relations, the timing of the embargo couldn't
have been worse. The two sides were already embroiled in dis
putes over steel, agriculture, high U.S. interest rates and the
strong dollar.•••To some extent, both sides agree, the disputes
have been exacerbated by Europe's economic problems. With 10
million workers unemployed--� postwar record--and little hope for
a quick return to prosperity, European leaders are reluctant to
give way to the U.S. on economic issues••••
The irony, to officials on both sides of the Atlantic, is that
the pipeline decision, which was intended to show the Soviets
that the West is getting tough in its dealings with the Eastern
bloc, may have widened the split between the U.S. and its west
European partners. It may have turned what� supposed to have
�.!!!�-West issue into � West-vs.-West fight.
"The Russians couldn't have planned it any better," a Washington
based diplomat laments. A White House strategist concedes, "We
probably have come as close as we can to giving the Soviets a
wedge."
Recent editorials in the influential JOURNAL have castigated the Europeans
for carrying detente too far, for succumbing to Soviet economic pressure,
backed up with its growing military advantage. The June 29 lead editorial
said, in part:
The Soviets have adroitly captured the support of the German and
French governments for a business transaction that probably could