Basic HTML Version
PAGE 10
PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, SEPTEMBER 21, 1984
Russia and Germany had no bilateral disputes in 1914. Nor did
they have any difficulty communicating with each other; their
rulers met from time to time (as at a family wedding in 1913), and
they wrote to each other frequently via the famous "Willy-Nicky"
letters. They were drawn into conflict because they were allied
to Austria-Hungary and Serbia, respectively, which were in bitter
dispute over the Serb desire to detach Austria's South Slav pro
vinces from Hapsburg rule....
When the Austrian government, . believing that the only way to
eliminate Serbian subversion in its South Slav provinces was to
eliminate Serbia, used the Archduke's assassination at Sarajevo
as an occasion to declare war on Serbia, Russia mobilised in de
fence of its ally and Germany felt that it had to attack Russia
before this mobilisation could be completed••••
Mr. Dean Rusk, U.S. Secretary of State, used to say that the two
superpowers were not likely to fight over polar bears--the only
creatures in the areas where their borders intersect. If these
two countries fight at all, it will be because they are dragged
into war, as were Russia and Germany in 1914, by conflict in
other areas.•.. The fact that the U.S. and the Soviet Union had
been making a vigorous attempt at detente at Geneva in 1956 did
not prevent the outbreak of the Suez war from pitting them
against each other, any more than close contacts between Hohen
zollerns and Romanovs prevented war in 1914....
The U.S. is about to enter an election debate about foreign poli
cy, one in which Western Europe will also play a part. The temp
tation will be to focus this debate largely on detente and the
cold war. This would be wrong. The Russians and the U.S. will
remain vociferous competitors, give or take a few decibels, for
the foreseeable future.
The one area of competition that could flare up to a crisis is Nicaragua.
In the face of stern U.S. opposition, the Communist regime there is per
sisting in its efforts to deploy advanced fighter planes, which could be a
threat to the entirety of Central America. Here is a report in the Septem
ber 20 LOS ANGELES TIMES:
Despite U.S. objections, Nicaragua will never renounce the right
to create a modern air force, including up-to-date Soviet MIGs or
other jet fighters, according to Nicaraguan Defense Minister
Humberto Ortega. He said construction of a new airfield able to
accommodate modern jet fighters will be completed by early next
¥ear. The field, which will have runways up to 13,200 feet long,
1s at Punta Huete--on Lake Managua about 13 miles northeast of
Managua, the Nicaraguan capital••.•
The possible deployment by Nicaragua of modern warplanes such as
Soviet MIG-2ls has been a subject of deep concern to the Reagan
Administration because, American spokesmen have said, their in
troduction into Central America could significantly alter the
balance of power in the region. U.S. officials have said the
United States will permit no "advanced-performance aircraft"--