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in
the wake of today's WORLD EVENTS
•
United States to Export
Atomic Secrets?
Brirain's favored position vis-a-vis American nuclear
secrets may soon be at an end.
France, long displeased with Brirain's privileged po–
sirion, will undoubtedly seek U.S. nuclear information
wirh rhe expirarion in 1973 of America's McMahon Acr .
France would also pressure Britain into sharing her
long-accumulared arsenal of nuclear secrers and know–
how. As inrerprered, rhe McMahon Act forbids rhe ex–
porting of American nuclear secrers ro any nation except
Brirain.
French access ro U.S. aromic secrets could, in rhe
eyes of sorne, be the beginning of whar could evenrually
become an independent Wesr European nuclear force. Ir
could prompt Brirain ro more quickly rurn ro a growing
European
concept of defense. Proponenrs of a Wesr Euro–
pean force
see
ics embryonic beginning in a pooling of
Brirain's largely submarine-based nuclear force and rhe
French nuclear
force de frappe.
Britain and France could
chen, utilizing rechnological secrers provided by che
Uniced Srates, produce warheads for missiles made in che
Federal Republic of Germany - propelling W estern Eu–
rope along che road ro nuclear powerdom.
Japan may also benefit from U.S. aromic secrets in
che near future. This possibility was ra.ised earlier this year
during meetings between President Nixon and Japanese
Prime Minisrer Tanaka. The Japanese, rhough nor a nu–
clear milicary power, have long soughr secret U.S. aromic
rechnology ro advance their peacet.ime atomic energy pro–
gram, by which rhey are hoping ro decrease their depen–
dence on oil. Joinr U.S.-Japanese conscruccion of a billion–
dollar uranium enrichment planr is being conremplated.
The chief advanrage in such a deal for rhe United
States is economic.
President Nixon's agreement ro encourage che joint
enrichment plant is anorher indicarion of how seriously
PLAIN TRUTH December 1972
che United States regards its balance-of-rrade problem wirh
Japan. Should che plant become a reality, che Japanese
would apparendy invest sorne $500 million in ir, chus eas–
ing rhe mammoth balance-of-paymenrs ddicit che U.S.
now runs wirh Japan.
•
0
Grain Drain" Threatens
U.S. Wheat Reserves
In rhe wake of the most severe Soviet crop failure in
a decade, che Soviet Union has purchased a billion dollars'
worrh of grain from che Unired Sta.tes, with sizeable im–
ports predicted for
me
furure. Thus che Soviet Union, a
narion accusromed ro being a grain exporrer, has been ele–
vared ro che No.
2
spot (behind Japan) on che list of for–
eign purchasers ofU.S. grain.
The crisis began Jase year wben, afrer a summer of
Jircle rain, cold remperarures premarurely arrived, accom–
panied by lighr snowfaJJ - thus freezing che ground be–
fore enough snow fell ro prorecr che newly-planred wheat.
Spring arrived late, followed by che hotresr and driest
summer in a century. Torrencial rains during the aurumn
harvesr delivered che final blow. Thousands of acres of
whear were lose in the Ukraine alone, che tradicional grain
basket of che USSR. Gross inefficiency and mismanage–
menr in the massive Soviet harvest appararus complicated
che situation. This combinarion of facrors sem Russia ro
the Unired States in Augusr ro purchase sorne 400 million
bushels of U.S. whear - one fourth of che entire Ameri–
can wheat crop.
The massive wheat purchase, which rakes a sizeable
bite out of America's 1972 crop, also promises ro reach
deeply into U.S. -wheat reserves. According ro Assistant
Agriculture Secrecary Carroll G. Brunrhaver, che Unired
States is clown ro a "prudent mínimum reserve," and the
Russian purchases have created "a potencial shorrage" of
whear in rhe Uniced Srates. Nevertheless, a sizeable U.S.
wheat sale ro mainland China -
20
million bushels -
was arranged in Seprember.
13