Basic HTML Version
STRAUSS
(Continued from page 6)
travels, which had been interrupted
by public service. His visits have in–
cluded trips to Israel, southern Afri–
ca, China, and South America. (He
has been in sorne of these areas sev–
era! times.)
In April 1970, on one of his many
trips to the United States, Strauss
visited the campus of Ambassador
College in Pasadena, California.
During bis two-day visit, he ad–
dressed the student body (he speaks
fluent English and French) and was
interviewed for
The Wor/d Tomor–
row
television program. He was the
honored dinner guest of
Plain Truth
Editor-in-Chief Herbert W. Arm–
strong in Mr. Armstrong's home.
(Mr. Armstrong later said of Dr.
Strauss's visit: "At the close of the
first day, he commented that he had
just spent the happiest day of his life.
The peace and happiness here are
contagious. Dr. Strauss drank it in.
Herr Strauss said, ·we need an Am–
bassador College in Germany.' ")
Unlted Europe Advocate
In
The Wor/d Tomorrow
television
studios on April 2, 1970, Strauss
reemphasized a theme that has been
constant throughout his career-the
urgent need, from his perspective, of
a strong United Europe. Asked why
he felt a United Europe was essential
to tbe free world, he answered: "A
United Europe is more essential now
for the free world than it would have
been anytime before.... Big powers
have been established, the United
States of America, Russia, Japan. 1
think that small and medium-sized
European states are no longer able to
face what the future demands from
all of us....
"Therefore my political fr iends
and 1 bave been pleading for years
and years now for a United Eu–
rope.... We need a strong Europe, a
Europe with an attractiveness, a Eu–
rope with a fascinating cultural, eco–
norhic, financia! power, and a Europe
which is also ready and prepared and
capable of taking a greater share of
the burden in Atlantic defense."
Tbree years later, on May 8, 1973,
42
Dr. Strauss again emphasized before
The World Tomorrow
television
cameras (this time in Germany) the
same theme: "We must achieve, we
must bring about and we must real–
ize West European unity before the
Soviet vision of tbe Europe of tomor–
row comes into reality." That vision
would be an American-free Europe,
dominated by Moscow with no West–
ern European unity.
Has Seen Amerlca Sllde
Since these interviews, much, of
course, has transpired on tbe world
scene. Tbe American half of the
"twin pillars" of the Atlantic Al–
liance has sutfered a humiliating mil–
itary defeat in Vietnam and a paraly–
sis of executive autbority through the
Strauss has a nightmare
vision of the Western
world enfeebling itself by
apathy and disunity,
falling like sorne
rotten-ripe plum into the
Kremlin's hands.
' '
Watergate episode. Since then, tbe
Soviet Union has advanced its cause
around the world, virtually un–
checked by Washington.
Worst of all, the United States is
in the midst of a severe crisis of lead–
ersbip. In the wake of the recent
chaos in Washington-especially the
unprecedented forced resignation of
President Carter's entire cabinet–
U.S. prestige has sunk toa new low,
as reflected in tbe zooming price of
gold.
Leading Europeans-and un–
doubtedly Strauss as well-bave lit–
tle confidence that America will
eitber solve its nightmarish energy
dilemma or recover enough confi–
dence to resume its leadership of the
non-Communist world. The idyllic
"American dream" which enamored
many Europeans to the U.S. society
is finished. As evidence of that, a
recent cover of
Der Spiege/
bad a
cartoon of a countryfied President
Carter standing atop an empty oil
barre! in front of a sign reading
U.S.A.- LAND
OF
UNLIMITED
POSSI–
BILITI ES.
Tbe President was shown
glumly painting out the
un
from
un–
/imited.
Need For Nuclear Defense
Franz Josef Strauss has continuously
pointed up the Soviet menace-and
the need for Europe to eventually
control its own nuclear defense force.
Strauss, reported the
Sunday Te/e–
graph
on July 9, 1979, "has a night–
mare vision-which his frequent
visits to Peking will not have dis–
pelled- of the Western world enfee–
bling itself by its sheer apathy, disun–
ity and materialism, and eventually
falling, like sorne rotten-ripe plum,
into the Kremlin's hands."
As Germany's chancellor, contin–
ued the
Sunday Telegraph,
"he will
go for a tougher and more disen–
chanted view of detente; a strength–
ening of NATO's defences and a
much st ronger European profile
within that a lliance, including a new
European nuclear profile."
A German government with
Strauss at the helm would also pur–
sue, as he has said, "an African poli–
cy that corresponds with real Ger–
man interests."
These interests, in his view, do not
involve the overthrow of moderate
forces in southern Africa and the
mollycoddling of Marxist revolution–
aries. Continued access to the miner–
al riches of the African subcontinent
and protection of the strategic Cape
Route-avenue for much of Europe's
oil supply-are vital to Germany's
interests.
Dramatlc Campaign
The West German national cam–
paign promíses to be one of tbe most
exciting political battles in tbe post–
war history of any country of the free
world: The popular, witty, confident
Chancellor Schmidt against bis Ba–
varian challenger, considered to be
one of the most dynamic extempora–
neous public speakers of modern
times.
The
PLAIN TRUTH September 1979