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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 8, 1985
PAGE 9
where Soviet planes can land. In the strict and narrowest sense
of US national security--i.e., defence of the continental home
land--Cuba is no threat. It will never invade the United States.
But should there be a Soviet-American confrontation, those Soviet
bases and Cuba's own military strength--to say nothing of its
strategic location on the sea lanes--would surely count for some
thing.
And there is another consideration. Yes, there really� domi
noes out there (and they are especially there in Central Ameri
ca) ••:-:-All revolutions in Central America have some indigenous
roots. But that insurrection in El Salvador co_
uld not be so
threatening were it not for Cuban and Nicaraguan assistance to
the rebels. And if a Marxist-Leninist regime is once established
in El Salvador, what will happen to Honduras, Costa Rica, Guate
mala, and Panama, where embryonic revolutionary movements are al
ready active? And what, eventually, will happen to Mexico it
self? These are all very shaky regimes, rife with corruption,
and with ineffectual military establishments. Their vulnerabili
ty is acute.
These nations are well aware of their vulnerability, which is why
they are now engaged in the so-called "Contadora process," trying
to act as peace-making mediators for the region. But, though
everyone expresses pious approval of such mediation, the sad
truth is that it is more political theatre than anything else.
These countries have no independent "leverage" on the situation-
they� simply too weak. And there are no "misunderstandings"
to clear up, since the United States and the Sandinistas under
stand each other well enough•••• [And] economic assistance does
not really provide an answer to the immediate threat of Marxist
Leninist insurrection••••
To some degree, the European attitude is little more than a
desperate hope that it can keep comfortably aloof from the
turbulence of a world-wide ideological conflict•.•• Whatever the
sources of the European perspective and European conduct•••one
thing is clear: America's European allies are fast approaching a
moment of deeision. The United States is not going to remain
committed to the defence of Western Europe, at the risk of nu
clear annihilation, if Western Europe is not equally committed to
the defence of America's interests. In the debate over Central
America, the very existence of NATO itself is at stake':-:••
So our allies in Western Europe should start thinking with some
care about Central America. As things now stand, they are too
inclined to be frivolous, distancing themselves publicly from
American policy in order to appease anti-American political
opinion at home, while at the same time offering private as
surances of solidarity.
It is a short-sighted tactic--as any
such appeasement generally is. A major clash between the United
States and Europe over Central America could soon lead to
overwhelming pressures in the United States for a redefinition of
its role in NATO--� to the point of the withdrawal of U.s.
forces from the European continent. This prospect is something
Europeans should ponder most seriously.