Tensions in the Western Alliance

...REACTING TO REAGAN Tensions in the Western Alliance BY NORMAN GELB LONDONG ONCE AGAIN, the Western alliance is gripped by galloping hypochondria And once again the pulse taking and symptom spotting is accompanied by muttenngs about the tensions threatening the common interests that keep the alliance whole Inevitably, the policies and performance of "the Americans," meaning the Administration, are at the center of the latest onset of geopolitical jitters Profoundly concerned Europeans wonder whether Ronald Reagan and the men who run the White House for him are fully aware of the implications of America's words and actions The recurring squabbles between Secretary of State Alexander M Haig Jr and Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger seem to signify that Washington has no coherent American world view—other than focusing narrowly on the Kremlin as the nemesis Another sort of worry is that the Administration, Congress and the American people will be alienated by Europe's reluctance to wholeheartedly support U S international initiatives In this epoch of superweapons, it is noted, America could finally conclude that it no longer is necessary to have namby-pamby West Europeans help carry the burden of defense against the Soviet menace It did not escape attention on this side of the Atlantic that Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska—riled by foot-dragging on sanctions against the USSR for its behavior in Poland—declared recently "It's time to re-examine our commitments to Western Europe " It is also being regularly recalled that not really so long ago, then Democratic Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana, who is now the bipartisan U S ambassador to Japan, said American troops had done their job on the Continent and should be withdrawn Meanwhile, Soviet Party chief Leonid I Brezhnev's recent offer to freeze the number of SS-20 missiles west of the Urals has underscored the fact that the Russians have 300 of those triple-war-headed projectiles already aimed at their immediate neighbors As if Western Europe needed a reminder that its primary deterrent against the Soviets remains the American nuclear umbrella, guaranteed only by the well-being of the alliance Nonetheless, criticism of the U S continues to mount America's image is regularly besmirched by widely publicized atrocities in Central America, even when there is no specific United States connection Doubts are expressed about whether the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan is as menacing as Washington believes At times, the foreign ministries of West European countries actually seem relieved over the situation in Poland, apparently feeling the martial law imposed by General Wojciech Jaruzelski prevented anarchy and forestalled a perilous Russian intervention Nor is the British Foreign Office alone in resenting what is looked upon as U S permissiveness toward the outlandish-ness of Begimsm, for the conviction is that tolerating the Israeli Prime Minister's intransigence risks pushing a Middle East settlement permanently beyond reach With dread of selective American trade barriers and high U S interest rates complicating attitudes still further, skepticism about the alliance's health is perhaps not surprising These anxieties have prompted several European leaders, who do not relish undue speculation on the subject, to voice both reassurances and warnings British Foreign Secretary Lord Carnngton has observed "We should remember that the health of even the strongest patient is not improved by regular exploratory surgery We must not undervalue the strong partnership we have " Across the channel former French Prime Mimster Maurice Couve de Mur-ville, while urging the United States "to treat the Europeans as adults," pooh-poohed qualms about the viability of the alliance "That the alliance is in a state of crisis," he scoffed, "is something I have been hearing throughout the 30 years of its existence " Willy Brandt, the prime European architect of detente when he was Chancellor of West Germany, remains doubtful about the possibility or advisability of a "Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war " On the other hand, he stresses "Nato is militarily intact and capable of political action There can be no question of an actual crisis comparable to that caused by de Gaulle when he decided on withdrawal from the alliance's military integration ' Indeed in some respects, the Europeans find the Reagan Administration is easier to deal with than the less hard-nosed, rather equivocating Jimmy Cartel people Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is devoted to the President and has allowed her Foreign Olfice a very short leash in taking exception to American wishes Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, badly humiliated bv Carter s somersault on neutron weapons, finds the Reagan crowd, with whom he is less ideologically attuned, more intelligible, despite Secretary Haig's linguistic audacities Even President Francois Mitterrand, heir to a postwar tradition of French defiance of U S attitudes, feels comfortable calling on Washington STILL, a fundamental change in the relationship between the United States and its allies is in the making In part, the momentum for this comes as much from new circumstances in Europe as from policy shifts in Washington Years ago, many prominent Europeans, such as former British Prime Minister Edward Heath, hoped that a strong Common Market would finally legitimize Europe's claim to equal partnership with the United States Those hopes have been undermined by the ongoing tribulations of the Common Market But despite the European Community's failure to become a convincing political entity, economically it is as powerful today as the United States Moreover it has produced more than a generation of politicians and diplomats who do not reflectively gauge comparative standings in thealliancc in terms ot America s rescue ol Euiope during and after World War II Among them are men and women now in key positions who regularly question America's preeminent role They want much closer consultation on matters of mutual interest than Washington has so far been prepared to concede They want to feel free to say what they think about Central America as well as Poland, interest rates as well as Afghanistan Lest anyone suspect this is a neutralist tendency, it should hastily be pointed out that the Quai d'Orsay in Paris, though spearheading this Young Turk movement, remains deeply suspicious of the USSR and determined to deter any Soviet threat The French believe Europeans cannot presume to ask for parity with America in the alliance without preparing to do their share to strengthen Western defenses For all that Thatcher has quickly shied away from any gesture that might be seen as distancing her from the White House, the London Times reflects growing British sentiment when it says the French argument for stronger European clout in the Alliance "deserves to be taken very seriously ' The Times argues "Europe is too heavily dependent on America The alliance as a whole depends on the threat of using nuclear weapons to repel a large-scale attack by Soviet conventional forces The right way to redress the balance is not to turn Europe into another nuclear superpower but to strengthen Europe's conventional forces " The U S umbrella of missiles, it is maintained, would then be matched by a European capacity for nonnuclear defense In addition, it is pointed out that the growth of the "peace movement,' based primarily on tear of nuclear holocaust, would be undermined "A free and equal alliance, including the majority ot the most powerful economies in the world...

...We must not mistake di-versity tor divergence He might have added that West Europeans arc no longer readv to always set their clocks bv Washington time NORMAN GELB is the NL's regular London correspondent and author of The British, to be published in May...

...Lord Carnngton recently told the American Chamber ot Commerce in London, "does not emulate the clockwork chorus ol the War-saw Pact...