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Picking
Up
the
NuclearOption?
ISOLAnONIST TREND IN U.S.
WORRES EUROPEANS
Witb !be American withdnwal
of suppon for ber lndoehiu
allies,
Western European leaders ha.s-–
I<Ded 10
reusun:
tbem.selves that
!bey stiU believed iD !be strcostb of
tb01r
owo
alliaoee witb !be United
States.
Reftcain¡ thc ol!iáal
vicwpoiD~
former West Gaman
CbaneeUor
WiUy
Brand~
spealcing in Wub–
ing!On after conferring witb
PTesi–
dent Ford, said tbat "everyone
&hould undentand tbat tbCie is not
the
Jli¡hte.st
ide-.
o(
mistrust
o(
the
Uoired S14te&."
Tbe popular prC$$, however, re–
ftects
ftr
more cooccm over Amer·
ica's rucure role
iD
the world tban
the politicians admit. Tbe two
Frencb news-weeklies,
L
'Expnu
and
LA
J'oiJtt,
respeetively, catried
covcr atories about ...Ameriea's re–
eRal"
o.od "Ameriea's decline."
Tbe West Germo.o
FIGII/cfiut<r A/1-
,.._,•• headlintd a pa&e oa<: edi–
torial catitled ' 'America: A
Hclpless GianL"
Not eomroning to militar-y
stnlteSÍJU on lbe othcr side of !be
Atlantic
is
tbc fact tbat acoordiDg 10
a recen! poli, only )9 pcrccnt of!be
American public íavors
military
in·
-
lvciñCril'lTW..
iem
Europea in·
vaded. Tbe poli, oonductcd by !be
Chicago Council of Foreign Rela–
tions, reneett wbat some obscrvers
feel
ís
a irowlng wave of isolabon–
ism in the Un.ited States.
Tbe
pros–
pcct of !be Un.ited Staoes, kiDgpiD
of !be NATO
lllio.occ,
turning
in·
ward. cuttlng back oo com–
tnltmtots
10 Westom Europc, bolds
!be
p<Oa>isc
ora llllljor sbakcup
in
!be 27-year-old, IS-mcmber
de–
r.,..
pac:s.
Wbo'a
ia
CUrte-
1k
Adllllalstntloa
or
Coe-!
Presideot Ford decl'ares
that
"no
allies or time-testee! triends
o(
!be
Unj¡ed Statcs shouJd
worry
or fear
that our commiuncnt.s to tbem
wiiJ
not be booored." But Cong<C$$
may
be
more sensitive to tbe rnood
or an electorate
incr~a.singly
relucr
ta.nt to commit American man·
powcr to !be dcféllSc of Europc.
As
con¡rcsJlon.al
intetvedtion
iD
for–
eign polícy becomes 1110rc preva·
leot. Europeans are rethiotiog
tbe.r rclatiollShip witb America.
One ollláal iD Brussc:ls summarizes
!be
~ad,
"We oo lon&CI
ask
ow-–
sc\vcs wh.at Kissíugcr
thinks,
but
what Conucss
thinb."
Com.menún¡ on the election
o(
tbc ...,.. American Cooucss wt
November, the Englisb daily, lbc
Guardlllll,
wamed that "!be frcsh,
youns Congrcssional blood
wiU
COIJlC
down
OD
the
.side O( more
dcfcdsc euts and spccdicr
troop
wilbdrawals from Europe." Tbu
stAtemcnt augmcnts !be possibility
lhataometime
iD
tbe next
yeat
and
a halr, Congress will push the
..M8.J1Jfield Amcndmeat.
o
a mea·
sure
to
cut
U.S.
overseas troop
strcn&tb by half, a movc wbicb
would come down very
bazd
oa
American
torces
in Ewopc.
WEEK ENDING MAY ), 197S
Propoocnts of troop reductiollS
&r&uc tbat only a smaU "Rgimcntal
combat team• (in Stna10r- Mans–
liclcl's
words)
lll
Europc
is
oeees–
~
10 "demOilStnte !be American
nuclear oommicment co lbe defense
ofEuropc."
WW
Iba
U-S-
Lose
lts
NcrYe!
Tbe a.rsument
poses
two essen·
~~.~~~~::'~!~&,~ó'M: ~:: ~=
Contineot. F(I'SI, they fear tbat !be
U.S. "nuclear umbrclla" might be
removed
1U
thc lL,t momcnt
if
tbe
United Sta"'s loat its nervc or
it
Woi1d
Reaction
To
U.S.DownfaU
In
lndochina
Diplomats Cautious,
Press Outspoken
LONOON, April
S,
197S, Reu–
tcr:
Thb
La
how
Reutcrs correspon·
deots
in
'(Oriow capitAis "'poned
the impact of the Ameñcan di–
lemma and tbe Vietnam tragedy:
BONN - Dcspitc
aU
ol!lcial
as–
&uran.,.. of solidarity aod coa–
fidcocc Ibis weck, many We&t
Oermans uy
i.n
private that recent
devclopmenu have
r11ised
doubts
about
Wuhios,con's credibility.
Wcst Gennao ncwspapcn bavc
becD
IICCUSÍtlg
Pt-csideot Ford of
nuuuog away from United Statcs
mpons•btllucs iD lndncbioa.
Thc German tabloid
Bild
'bi–
'""8
blamed "a weak presiderll"
and a powerful Cong<C$$ for !be
oountry's decline.
ROME - Tbe latest cveots in
South Vietnam have taised
fea.rs
tbat !be Unlted StAtes may be rc–
tre<~ting
toward a rñood of isolation
and abdication of its re.sponsi·
bilitics.
Thc hallan prcss. whicb has de–
votcd acre& of ncwsprint to. botb
evcuu,
is
fll
more cooc::erucd
by
thc prospcet of a dan!crous power
vacuum !han by !be appatent
dan–
gen of rclymg oa Amcric:ao
ai<L
Con!rcss beld len&thy deliber–
a.tions wbilc Cocnmuaist forus
upiWed
pant chunks of Westcm
Europc. In
1974,
Frcncb Gaullist
leader Alcxandrc Sanguineui
called !be nuclear umbrella a
"mytb"
aJlyway.
HtS
tbesú
was
básccl on !be hard-headcd usump–
tioo that ...no country
wiU
commit
suicide for the sake ofanolbcr."'
Tbe seco'Od problem surTouod·
·· iog
reduoed U.S. commiuncnt.js
that
i.o
arder
tO
avoid a nuclear
bolocaust. NATO olllcials propose
to meet an invasion
by
con-.wnllonal
(Contlnutd on
pagt
4, col. /)
Tbe ioducotial
CtHTID<
/Ñ/Ia
Suo
of Mila.o
said
iD a11 editOrial tbat
only !be Sovtct Uruon wu willing
to
move
lDlO
tbe power vacuum
ten
~
by
!be Amenc:ans.
PA.RIS - Senior Frcnch ol!iáals
refusc
10 be paoidced by !be ln–
dncbiDa situauoo dcspíte !be shrill
critici.sm of lhe Amencao adminis.
tration in lbe French prcss.
(Thc
conservativo
LA Ftgaro
headlined a
wbole page: "Thc lndncbiDa prob–
lem:
America
i.s
Occing bcfore
its
<C$ponsíbilltíes.")
Tbcse officiab
bcheve
the Uniled
States would maintain
it.s
mllitary
preseoce in Westem Europe. not ro
pleasc !be Europeans but becausc
the American (orces a.re a key ele:–
mcnt
io
t.b.c.
Unucd States suategy
of maintaioia¡ stability witb !be
Soviet Uoioa.
MADRID - Latcst lndochina
developmeots strenstben !be argu·
meot of Sparultds who opposc !be
proococe of U.S. forees tn Spa•n,
acoording to pobtical obstrvers
hcre. Thcu main
ar¡ument
apio.st
a reoewal
or-
five·year .,reeme.nt,
expiriog
in
Scptembcr,
u
that
1t
ex·
poses
Spain to Soviet nuclear at·
ta.ck: - a
risk
not eommensurate
wítb the amount of
Amcrie<U~
aid
Spain
is
rcceivins.
TEL AVfV - Prime Min.ister
Yitzhalc Rabio oo Tbúrsday said:
••t
bclicvc tbere
is
a distioct dift"cr ..
encc in !be approach of the Ameri–
can people aod Coogress to
Southcut
Asia
and 10 Israel " 01>–
.rervers hen:·&re- c:oaviocc:d
that
thc
.uÉ
5 REFERENOUM
The Vote-That Could Decide
Europe's Future
LONDON: A massive "YES"
for Europe-and the Commoo Mar·
ket
was
rcc:ordcd iD !be Housc of
Com.moas
a.ftet
thc recent thrcc·
day dtbau, Parliamcnt voted
396
to
176
i.u
favwora mObOO approv·
in&
Brita.in's rene¡otiated terms or
membenhip iD !be nioe-oauoo Eu–
ropean CommllDity whicb bad
becn cnginecred
by
Prime Mini<tcr •
Harold Wilson at !be European
Summit Confercncc bcld in Oublin
in carly March.
But iDStead of
bcin&
a vote of
con.fidence for Harold Wilson, the
buge affi.rmative acclamation ror
Europe is likcly to cause bim •
cnormous headaches bctween oow
and !be rcfercodum day. Analrsh
of !be figures sbowed that a ma¡or–
ityofWilson's own pany bad votcd
apin.st
him.
Wilso-o
was
supponed
by
a
mere
117
mtJDben of b.is pany
tn
the
vote.
Tbe
motion canied only
with
tbc suppon of
the
opJ>OSIIIOD Con–
~rvativc
and Ltlx:nl parties.
Tbc issuc. of cowse, still
bu
10
be
decided
ia
BritaJ.D'&
ft.nt...evc.r
oa.tionwide refett:ndum scheduled
for June
S.
Tbe Britisb eiCCIOrate
wiU
be
asked
to
answer ..
ycs'"
or
..no•• to ooe
stra.igbtforward ques–
tion: ....
Do
you want
8ritain
to
re·
main iD tite Common Market?"
Will the voters, now cncouraged by
!be majority of thcir otlicials to
an·
swer in the affirmative. do so - or
lact of grcatcr ftc.<ibillty by Israel
was •
direc:t
ooosequeoce: or the
failurc of
Dr.
Kasioser's
París
agrecment oo Vicmam.
BANGKOK -
lt
bu becn dear
sinee the downfaU of !be last mili–
tary regime herc 17 mootb$ aso
that !be
eno
of close Tbai-U.S. c:o–
opcration
wa.s
over.
The with–
drawal of the rcmainín& 2S,OOO
American tr.oops scheduled by !be
new
govemment
within a
year
¡,
a
symptom or a cbanged Tbai atti–
tude.
MANILA - Prc$idcnt Fcrdi·
nand Ma.l'OC>$ bas cold
newsmcn
• thar !be Philippincs has beco reas–
sessing its atratlgements
with
the
United
Statcs
witb a view to up–
dating !be Americo.o milltary
assis·
lanCe
pac:!.
TAJPEI- Tbere
bu
beco spccv–
latioo bere tbat !be U.S. M1htarj
Assatance
ltld
Advuory Group
may be witbdrawn as early u June
as an Ametica.a ges:turc
10
Pekín¡
btfore Pxesident Ford visits the
Cbine&e capitaL Military upcru
say thc witbdnwal of the small
group would be mainly ,nychologí–
c:al.
SEOUL - The once dominant
U.S. intluence iD Soutb Korea has
wancd. But Soutb Ko"'a feels tbat
Am.erican inOucoce should not
be
reduced further. h wants thc Amcr·
ican military pr..cncc and ec:o–
nomie partucrship
lO
tonUnue
10
pre.serve lhe balance
o(
power
amon& itS big oc•sJ!bors: Japao.
China and !be Soviet Utüon.
o
will !bey rejcct tbeir govcmment's
recommendation? ...
11M:
lssaa
The Com.mon Markd issue b.u
for maoy yean provoked stroog
passiom iD Britisl! politics.
1t
bu
rubbcd oen-e
<Gc!iop
raw
ltld
re–
mioded Bri10ns that thcir countty
is
now alone
witbou.1
the comfor1·
ablc cconomie lifebelt of ao cm–
pire. In
a
few
shon post-war
yel/S
continental countrics bave
quickly
outpaced Britain in trade. standard
of living aod political ioftuence.
Tbc European Commun.ity was
tbercforc attacted from the
Ldl
as
being
"a
ricb ma.o's dub." Tbe
RísJ!t was disttubed by thc lar¡e
Commun.ist patties in many Com–
mon Market oountries.
Dcep and ingrailled British sus- •
picions are uoused that oootmucd
mClllbenhip
wiU
oot ooly ,..,.. !be
~:~~o::.~:u~~~~n~
isb ParliaJneot
will
be reduocd 10 a
ápbcr. Some
bold
lbe
VICW
that
Britaio
wilJ
be oootrolled
by
a Con–
tinental Commission witbout the
British pcople being ablc 10 in–
ftuence it. Tbere
is
still a widc·
rpread fear tbat !be couotty
wiU
be
thru.\1 unwiUiDgly iDto som..-son Of
fedcration of Europcao states by
thc conccncd\ schemings of some
vilionary EuropeaDS.
Mr. Wilsoo bas tried
10
aUay
tbesc fears. Tbe-history of !be last
fow yean
has
chaoged Britain's
initial reservalions about Commu·
niry mcmbersbip, be said. "Tbe na–
tu re of tbe Commua.ity has
changcd,
is
changing and will
cbo.o&e funher. lt
has
chaoged iD a
way wbich
has
grcatly
reduced
my
anxic:ties about t.he powu
oC
supra·
oatíonal iDstitutions established
by
the
tteaty.... Ecooomica,nd monc–
taty
union
is
not a reasiblc. propos:i·
don
roe
as many
yea.rs
ahcad as we
can
see.••
But Eclward He,.th, in
bis
first
parliamentary
speech sinoe he re·
linquishcd the leadcrship of the
Conservatives. did not
att~mpt
to
avoid
this
importaot political
ques·
tíon, Tbe Eur9pean Community
had, in fa.tt, been cceatcd for
a
po–
lítica! ptup<>SC. be said. Tbat was
!be cootaioment ofGcrmaoy. "Tbc
powcr of Germa.oy
oow
is
im–
mcnse, líoaoáaUy, aod ccooomi·
cally. as wdl a.s
its
milicary
strenp. Tbe·grcar majority of the
Oennans want
to
have
a frame–
work iD which !bey can worlt and
~
containcd."
Tbe only way 10 maiotaio tbo
prospcrity aod defense ofthe Wcst,
be added, was by Britai11 stayina in.
Thcrc was a danger. he wamcd,
that the Unitcd· States míght wuh
her hands of Eutopc if !be Com-
0\UDity disintegr•ted.
The issues are immense.
The Britisb referendwn of Jun.e
S
will tbercfore 30 a long way 10
determining not only !be future of
Britain but also the destioy of the
wbole ofWes!cm Europc.
-DavidPnc•
3