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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JUNE 3, 1983
PAGE 9
economic issues especially, as well as on the broader range of East-West
political and security relations.
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher--who could attend only one day in
Williamsburg before flying back home to continue her election campaign--is
often referred to as an "ideological soulmate" of Mr. Reagan's. The new
chancellor of West Germany, Helmut Kohl, a first time summiteer, is con
siderably more in tune with the U.S. President's thinking than was former
chancellor Helmut Schmidt.
Italy's Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani represents the NATO country that
has been the least problem to Washington concerning the deployment of the
new Pershing II and cruise missiles. Finally, Prime Minister Nakasone of
Japan and Mr. Reagan "hit it off" well when the former visited Washington
earlier this year. This personal relationship helps smooth over the peren
nially bumpy relationship of the two countries over trade issues.
Key: Confidence in America
Viewing the activities of this annual "summit of summits" (my fourth such
conference) , one thing was impressed upon me very forcefully:
Just how
important is the factor of confidence in America to the stability of the
entire Western world.
This was amply demonstrated by the crude attempt on the part of the Soviet
Union, just as the summit began, to rattle those in attendance. Moscow
warned that if the Pershings and cruise missiles were indeed deployed in
Western Europe beginning at the end of 1983, it might feel compelled to move
some of its own Euromissile nuclear weapons forward into some of its East
bloc satellite countries. U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz declared
that the Soviet warning was intended as "a shot across the bow of this con
ference."
The Kremlin threat backfired instead. In an unprecedented show of soli
darity, the eight leaders assembled {the Common Market President also
attends) unanimously vowed support for the NATO deployment program. The
unanimity was all the more surprising considering it entailed support from
non-NATO Japan and from France, which maintains a separate defense struc
ture and participates with the alliance only on political matters.
Superficial Unity
Behind the smiles and the optimistic joint statements arrived at in
Williamsburg, however, are serious and widening differences, only papered
over for now in the pastel bloom of economic recovery. A serious rift
be
tween America and her friends is only a matter of time.
Before the conference, I had the opportunity of talking to several foreign
relations experts in three of the many "think tanks" that are headquartered
in Washington, D.C. The upshot of their comments to me: Watch out for the
next few months!
The fabric of European-American relations could well be ripped asunder over
the issues of missiles in Europe and the deepening U.S. involvement in Cen
tral America--an area of the world that most Europeans view with far less
alarm than the current administration in Washington.