MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
SUNDAY. DECEMBER 8. 1J
NATO Temporarily Paralyzed by JFK's Death
By JOSEPH W. GRIGG
United Press International
PARIS (UPI) - The flags of
the 15 Atlantic alliance powers
flap in a brave display of Allied
unity outside the greying NATO
headquarters building in Paris.
Out at Supreme Allied Head
quarters (SHAPE) 10 miles west
of the city, officers in a kalei
doscopic variety of uniforms of
NATO member countries work
over top-secret plans and try to
understand each other's lan
guages. But, behind this facade of
unity, President Johnson has in
herited leadership of an alliance
strong militarily, but politically
in disarray.
It is paralyzed temporarily by
John F. Kennedy's death. It
waits anxiously to size up the
new man in the White House.
Western officials ask what
will happen to the fragile ba
lance achieved by Kennedy and
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrush
chev, based on the Cuba under
standing, the Moscow test ban
agreement and the mutual can
celing out of thermonuclear ter
ror? America's Allies have been
reassured by Johnson's pledge
he will continue the Kennedy ad
ministration's foreign policies.
His plans to meet with the
West's top leaders early next
year have been welcomed.
But the alliance is riddled
with disputes. Its IS member
nations often are at cross-purposes.
President Charles de
Gaulle of France is seeking to
ease the United States out of
the driver's seat.
The alliance is hesitant and
unsure of itself, as seldom be
fore in its 14 years' history.
Today, the Atlantic alliance
awaits guidance, purpose and,
above all, leadership in what
well may be one of the most
critical eras in world history
an era that could see the cold
war end and the United States
Soviet nuclear standoff give way
gradually to a long-term accom
modation between the Commu
nists and the West.
"The place held by the Unit
ed States in the world explains
why all mankind is worried
when the American republic is
shaken," wrote leading French
commentator Raymond Aron in
the Paris Le Figaro after Ken-
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nedy's death. "How long will it
lake Khrushchev to give Lyndon
Johnson the same respect John
F. Kennedy won for himself in
October, 1962 (the Cuba
crisis)?"
Strains and Stresses
The new President has not
been pitched into any dramatic
new crisis in the alliance
rather a complex of strains and
stresses that add up to a situa
tion of deep uncertainty.
Conflicting nuclear policies. Al
lied fears that the United
States might pull the bulk of its
troops out of Europe, De
Gaulle's blackballing of Great
Britain for European Common
Market membership, his de
mand for a bigger say for Eu
rope in running NATO, the Unit
ed States balance of payments
difficulties all these and many
other elements of discord exist
in the alliance.
There is a feeling, if not a
fear, that the next few months
will see a period of marking
time rather than of energetic
action by the United States.
Question Marking Time
Yet many experienced West
ern diplomats question whether
the alliance can, in fact, afford
to mark time.
"Would not this be an ideal
opportunity for Khrushchev to
try the mettle of the new leader
in the White House by touching
off a crisis in, say, Laos or on
the Berlin Autobahn?", it is
being asked.
Western officials also are con
cerned that De Gaulle might
take the opportunity of a tem
porary hiatus in allied leader
ship to try to reinforce his own
position.
This thought was voiced by
George Brown, deputy leader of
the British Labor Party, who
has warned that "President
Johnson may have to learn
even faster to deal with De
Gaulle than with Khrushchev."
Looms Over Alliance
In fact, De Gaulle's long
shadow does loom over the
Western Alliance as constantly
and often, seemingly, as menac
ingly as that of Khrushchev.
His odd-man-out tactics have
upset the NATO applecart so
many times that his Foreign
Minister Maurice Couve de Mur
ville felt impelled to explain
recently that, though De Gaulle
may be a difficult ally, he is a
loval one who can be counted
on to the limit when the chips
are down.
French officials recall that at
the height of the Cuban Crisis
De Gaulle was the first member
of the alliance to pledge un
conditional support to Kennedy
if a thermonuclear world war
resulted.
They recall that in the latest
Berlin crisis De Gaulle without
hesitation ordered a French
troop convoy down the Autobahn
to back the strong United States
stand.
They recall, too, that De
Gaulle was among the first
Western leaders to announce
his decision to fly to Washing
ton for President Kennedy's
funeral. He intended this as a
striking show not only of esteem
for the dead President but of
genuine friendship for the Unit
ed States. De Gaulle then hast
ened to make a date to confer
with Johnson in Washington
early next year.
Stem From Leader
Yet, many of NATO's chronic
headaches stem lrom tne sum-
born old French leader.
De Gaulle recently rejected
Kennedy's plan for a mix-manned
Allied nuclear force of sur
face shins eauipped with Polaris
missiles. Disregarding Britain's
desire and America s wisnes, ne
blackballed the British from
Europe's Common Market. He
refused to sim tne Moscow wu
clear Test Ban Agreement and
proclaimed he would continue
nuclear testing m ine aimos
Dhere as lone as he saw fit.
De Gaulle continues to take
a lone wolf stand in the Alliance
bv refusing any part in the
West's "dialogue" with the So
viets. He also has withdrawn the
bulk of his armed forces from
NATO command. He refuses to
let nuclear warheads be stock
piled in France unless he con
trols them.
Hut most disquieting of all to
many Western officials is De
Giulle's basic attitude to NATO.
Regards NATO Obsolete
While proclaiming himself a
loyal member of the Western
Alliance and friend of the United
States, De Gaulle has made it
clear he regards NATO, as es
tablished in April, 1949, as obsolete.
Dc Gaulle's argument is this:
When NATO was founded 14
years ago, Europe was barely
rising from the ashes of World
War II. Its war-ravaged econ
omies were entirely dependent
on American aid. Today tne
situation has changed radically.
Western Europe is prosperous,
proud and strong and it is the
United States that is having
money troubles. The 1949 NATO
setup has served its purpose
and is out-dated. The Alliance's
whole structure needs drastic
revamping to give Europe a far
greater say in running it.
He asserts that in a show
down the United States could
not be counted on to hit back
with its full nuclear might and
to risk total destruction of its
cities in defense of European
interests, if United States in
terests were not directly and
vitally involved.
Holds Up Bugbear
Curiously almost paradoxi
cally De Gaulle at the same
time holds up constantly the
bugbear that the United States
some day may get tired of de
fending Europe and pull out its
troops.
De Gaulle is not alone in
voicing this fear. The West Ger
mans not to mention two-and-a-half
million West Berliners
are haunted perpetually by it.
The recent "big lift" opera-
tion, in which the U.S. 2nd
Armored Division was airlifted
from Texas to Germany and
back, had exactly the opposite
effect in Europe from what
Washington intended. It simply
increased fears that the United
States was planning troop cuts,
despite formal American re
assurances to the contrary.
Former President D w i g h t
Eisenhower's simultaneous sug
gestion tnat the bulk of the
crack U.S. Seventh Army should
be pulled out of Germany added
fuel to Allied nervousness in
Europe.
NATO's troubles do not all
stem from De Gaulle.
Are Sharply Divided
The United States and Britain
are sharply divided on Wash
ington's recent efforts to per
suade NATO countries not to
grant long-term credits to the
Communist Bloc. Britain insists
on trading with whom she sees
fit and as she sees fit, except
m strategic goods.
President Kennedy's proposal
for an Allied mix-manned nu
clear force of surface ships has
met witn little genuine enthu
siasm except from the West
Germans, who are suspected to
see in it a backdoor means of
entry into the "nuclear club."
The United States long has
felt it carries too heavy a mili
tary load in the Alliance and
that some NATO member coun
tries do not pull their weight.
Spent on Defense
The United States, Washing
ton does not fail to note, spends
nearly 10 per cent of its gross
national product on defense,
compared with 7.9 per cent by
France. 7.5 per cent by Britain,
and 6.3 per cent By west uer-
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LVAJ
SITE OF NATO Paralyzed temporarily by
death of President John F. Kennedy, the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization, housed
in the greying headquarters building in Paris
shown above, is waiting anxiously to size up
the new man in the White House. (UPI)
Militarily, the Alliance is not
in bad shape.
Admittedly, it never has
reached the relatively modest
goal of 30 divisions which for
mer Supreme Commander Gen.
Lauris Norstad set as a mini
mum for defense of the central
front in Europe.
In 1961, at the height of the
Berlin crisis, Allied forces on
this front reached a peak of 25
divisions. Today they are only
23 divisions, many of them not
up to full strength.
But Allied estimates of Com
munist armed strength also
have been revised radically
downwards since the 30 di
vision "minimum" was set. In
stead of the 170 Soviet divisions
it once was assumed are per
manently under arms, Western
officials now estimate the total
about 60 divisions.
Has Better Aircraft
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert
S. McNamara said in New York
on Nov. 18 that NATO has more
men and more combat troops on
the ground in Central Europe
than those of the Communist
Warsaw Pact. He said NATO
has more and better aircraft
than the Communists.
Still more important, McNa-
tons of TNT and "thousands" of
warheads.
The NATO Council of Minis
ters meets here for its annual
pre-Christmas stock-taking ses
sion Dec. 16. Its mood will be
one of expectancy of waiting
U.S. leadership of the Alliance.
It will want to hear again
that the United States is de
termined to defend Europe
particularly isolated West Berlin
Willi its full nuclear might.
Want Renewed Pledge
It will want a renewed pledge
that no U.S. troops will be pull
ed out of Europe.
It will want to hear that the
new administration continues
supporting the European Com
mon Market and the Kennedy
round program of across-the-
board tariff cuts.
It will want to know that the
new administration will con
tinue working for East West
disarmament, particularly in
the nuclear field.
Above all, America's Allies
will be awaiting proof that John
son can be counted on
Kennedy proved he could be
to stand up to Khrushchev in a
showdown while missing no
chance of hastening a cold war
settlement that would banish
the thermonuclear nightmare
for all times.
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