"NATO Must Adjust"

Konrad Adenauer's office in Bonn's Schaumburg palace was festive with lilacs last week. The old Chancellor himself, his craggy face and steady hands still brown from his Swiss vacation, looked fit and relaxed in a grey flannel suit as he discussed the problems of his country and his continent with TIME Correspondent James Bell.

ON NATO (with animation) : "The political development of NATO is essential. It is nonsense to believe one can have a common military policy without also having a common basic foreign policy. But no steps have been taken to stress the political role of NATO. When NATO was created there was serious danger of a hot war. Now the Russians have postponed this idea, but they haven't given it up. They concentrate now on political warfare and on infiltration. NATO must ad just itself to this new situation.

"It is not right that such important questions as Cyprus and the Middle East have so far not been discussed in NATO. If three years ago NATO had calmly and quietly discussed Cyprus, I can imagine that the present conflict could have been avoided.

"Take the danger in the Middle East. Is it not a question for NATO? But so far NATO has been silent. Our governments should give their NATO representatives information and instructions necessary to enable them to discuss such matters. It is as though these NATO ambassadors live on remote islands far from their motherlands and without instructions."

ON GERMAN UNIFICATION (with great vigor): If Khrushchev offered to negotiate with West Germany bilaterally on unification, "there would be no response whatsoever. It is nonsense to believe that the Soviets who were not prepared to give us reunification in peace and liberty with the other powers, would give it to us alone. They only want to bargain. In their eyes, German reunification is one of several objectives from which they want to get as much as possible. Khrushchev has said that he is willing to wait until I have disappeared."

ON GERMANY'S DELAY IN MILITARY CONTRIBUTIONS (gently but firmly): "Perhaps the fact is overlooked in the U.S. and other countries that in spite of the economic boom in the Federal Republic there are still millions of Germans who lack the basic requirements for normal existence. The aged pensioners with their dependents number 16 million, and there are the war wounded and the expellees [from the East]. These are heavy burdens which no other country has to bear. Therefore it is understandable that our public is not too pleased when it hears that greater amounts are asked for which there is no legal claim. When the matter was first brought up, it was not too skillfully handled. In spite of all this I hope we will come to an arrangement in the near future."

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