Atoms of Discord
CHAMBERLIN, WILLIAM HENRY
PERSPECTIVES Atoms of Discord By William Henry Chamberlin The United States has been bickering with General de Gaulle for years over the question of an independent French nuclear striking...
...Harold Wilson, who has just been elected leader of the Labor party and is quite likely to be the next Prime Minister of Britain, is on record as having said in Parliament in January: "We are completely, utterly and unequivocally opposed, now and in all circumstances, to any suggestion that Germany, West Germany or East Germany, directly or indirectly, should have a finger on the nuclear trigger or any responsibility, direct or indirect, for deciding that nuclear weapons are to be used...
...Considerations of psychology, of national pride, of concern over leaving national defense entirely in the hands of a foreign power—however friendly—must also be taken into account...
...An ally not treated as an equal may not remain an ally, and the defense of Europe against Communism, surely an interest shared by Britain and the U.S., would be impossible without German cooperation...
...More recently, there was a flare-up with Canada's Prime Minister John Diefenbaker because he was unable to make up his mind to use American-supplied nuclear warheads on some of Canada's defensive missiles...
...must reserve the right to act unilaterally in an issue of vital concern to its security...
...The Administration's view, most forcibly stated by Defense Secretary Robert McNamara on several occasions, is that the interests of NATO, the principal alliance of the free nations, will be served best by maintaining the U.S.' monopoly of nuclear weapons, with its European allies stepping up their non-nuclear armaments...
...The U.S...
...On a cold-blooded computer estimate of the situation, there is much to be said for this view...
...One possible solution might be to give NATO more real political content by providing its members with detailed information about U.S...
...But technological efficiency is not everything...
...And, after all, not all the uncomradely attitudes in NATO have been adopted by de Gaulle...
...The wisdom of America's opposition to de Gaulle's efforts to create a French nuclear striking force has always been open to question...
...The chances are that an American equivalent of de Gaulle would soon arise, protesting the unfairness and possible disadvantage of a dependent relationship...
...But in practice, there must not be too many fingers on the nuclear trigger...
...nuclear strategy, targets and prospective courses of action in possible future crises...
...All these disputes indicate that, if nuclear weapons are not to become atoms of discord between friendly nations, some means must be found to bridge the chasm between American and European conceptions of the proper organization and control of nuclear power...
...Prime Minister Macmillan and British Defense Minister Peter Thorneycroft had some difficulty is stilling voices of discontent in their own party when Washington called off its agreement to provide Britain with the Skybolt missile, which alone would have enabled that country to maintain its status as an independent nuclear power...
...may have helped trigger the French leader's decision to keep Britain out of the EEC...
...Until we resolve the dilemma created by America's preponderant nuclear power and the desire of European nations to have a say, as NATO allies, in the disposition of this power, the Atlantic alliance will experience disputes and difficulties...
...Since West Germany is an equal partner in the NATO alliance, and is particularly entitled to a consultative role on the use of nuclear weapons because of its common frontier with Communist states, Wilson's statement failed to display a very high level of statesmanship...
...Imagine the situation reversed, with the U.S...
...PERSPECTIVES Atoms of Discord By William Henry Chamberlin The United States has been bickering with General de Gaulle for years over the question of an independent French nuclear striking force...
...Washington's attitude merely irritated the General, without swerving him from his purpose, and...
...dependent for nuclear support on some European power, or combination of powers...
...If this is the case, however, the Kennedy Administration cannot very logically object if its allies reserve a similar right for themselves...
...it is neater, tidier and more efficient for the alliance's strongest and richest member to keep the arsenal of nuclear weapons as its own preserve...
Vol. 46 • March 1963 • No. 5
