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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MAY 13, 1986
PAGE 11
Perhaps the truth of the raid lies somewhere in between a "pinprick" and a
crippling blow.
Shortly after the raid, the Western allies did seem
emboldened to enact stiffe-r economic and political measures against
Libya--but mainly out of concern that Mr. Reagan would attack again unless
they did something concrete.
Nevertheless the Libyan raid once again
showed up the weakness of the bonds tying America to its allies in Europe,
as Christopher Layne analysed in the April 23 LOS ANGELES TIMES:
It is understandable that Washington feels let down by Europe,
but its disappointment also is the product of misconceptions of
what NATO is--or should be--about. Although U.S. policy�makers
assume otherwise, American and European interests are not
identical. Indeed, Western Europe and the United States are
divided by major and deepening divergences of their principal
strategic, political and economic interests. Libya is merely
one example of a widening transatlantic rift.
Europe• s hostility to our Libyan policy is rooted in
considerations of history and interests.
The United States
believes
that
NATO's
strategic
responsibilities
should
encompass the protection of Western interests in the Third
World. Europeans believe that the alliance exists solely to
defend Europe itself.
As a result, most Western European
nations will not permit Washington to use NATO bases on their
il to project U.S. power into the Third World. This did not
egin with Libya; during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, many Western
uropean
nations
refused
to
allow
American
aircraft
transporting military supplies to Israel to fly over their
territory or to refuel at NATO airfields••••
Europeans resent their displacement from world political
leadership by the United States, and fear that an arriviste
(upstart] American may be incapable of discharging U.S. global
responsibilities wisely•••• Linked to the Middle East by
historical and colonial ties, Western Europe believes that its
understanding of the forces driving terrorism is more
sophisticated than Washington• s. The Europeans see terrorism
as a consequence of the unresolved Palestinian and Arab-Israeli
problems•••• Because of geography, Western Europe is critically
dependent on Middle Eastern oil, and has important economic
ties to the region.
Thus Europe prefers to protect its
political, economic and security interests by cutting its own
i de � s with Libya, the Palestine Liberation Organization and
er Middle Eastern forces••••
Because geopolitical circumstances change, alliances never last
forever. They form in response to a mutually perceived threat
to security; when the threat dissipates, alliances disin
tegrate. This is what is happening with NATO, which was formed
in the immediate post-war years because a politically and
economically prostrate Western Europe believed that its
security was imminently threatened by the Soviet Union. Today,
however, Western Europe is stable and prosperous, and no longer
perceives Moscow as an overriding threat••••