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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, JANUARY 27, 1984
This growing concern was reflected in the opening speeches by the foreign
ministers from the larger countries, such as France and Britain, and the
tiny ones, such as Liechtenstein, Monaco and the Holy See (the official
government entity of the Vatican). Europe, noted British Foreign Secretary
Sir Geoffrey Howe, finds itself squarely in the middle of superpower rival
ry.
As a result of this frustration, there is a growing perception that the
United States is equally to blame for the worsening conditions, especially
in the aftermath of the deployment of the first of the new missiles. In
reality, the United States is easier to push around. A furious Moscow,
thwarted in its attempt to forestall the new missiles, is in no mood to
compromise whatsoever. Perhaps this perception was best summarized by the
lead editorial in the Jan. 3 FINANCIAL TIMES of London, which said: "The
American shield now looks, to a significant and vocal minority, more like
an American threat..•. In military and economic terms...the Atlantic
appears to be getting wider."
Just how wide the Atlantic is becoming was best displayed by the activities
at another conference, this time a private, three-day (Jan. 13 to Jan. 15)
closed door meeting in Brussels, Belgium immediately preceding the far more
publicized Stockholm affair. Delegates to the Brussels meeting consisted
of former government officials who are highly influential in their respec
tive countries. At this meeting, the diplomatic niceties gave way to "let
me really tell you what's on my mind." In summarizing the contents of the
largely secret Brussels conference, the headline in the Jan. 16 TIMES of
London said it all:
"Bitter Speeches Betray a Mutual Loss of Trust by
Europe and America."
The Brussels conference was entitled "The Future of NATO and Global Securi
ty."
But, said France's former Foreign Mi.nister Jean Francois-Poncet,
"every one of us knew that the real title was 'Atlantic Disagreements'
and... we got it."
What several participants described as "a growing crisis of mutual under
standing" surfaced in speeches by two former U.S. cabinet members, Henry A.
Kissinger and James R. Schlesinger, and West Germany's former Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt lashed out at what he called the "self-contra
dictory behavior" of the U.S. government toward the Soviet Union.
He
warned that "egoistical economic policies" pursued by Washington could soon
ruin the Alliance.
William G. Hyland, a Soviet specialist and former member of the National
Security Council, said that Mr. Schmidt's speech was a prime example of
"the growing gap between the United States and Europe that could end in
catastrophe."
Mr. Hyland, who will become editor of the influential quarterly, FOREIGN
AFFAIRS, told the Europeans that disenchantment was also mounting in the
United States, where one now hears the argument that NATO may not necessar
ily be in U.S. interests. "There are questions from serious people about
the wisdom of continuing with this alliance," Mr. Hyland said. He further
referred to an unnamed American general, one known for extravagant talk,
who has taken bets that the United States will quit NATO by 1990--just six
years away--in revulsion against the Europeans' refusal to "take on" the
Soviet Union.