Nervous Alliance

Once a year an atmosphere of crisis builds up around the West's North Atlantic Treaty alliance as the time approaches for the December annual review meeting in Paris. The warnings serve as a useful reminder that NATO's sword and shield, serviceable as it has proved to be in helping to keep the peace for the past ten years, remains an uncertain defense against the 50 divisions that the Soviets can hurl against Europe on short notice. No matter how low NATO planners set the sights, each year member countries manage to evade filling the targets. Only 21 NATO divisions exist, even on paper, along the West's front line. It took a Frenchman, General Jean-Etienne Valluy, 60, NATO's Commanding General of Allied Forces, Central Europe, to point out last week that "apart perhaps from the U.S. and Canada," many NATO members "have not kept their promises," are guilty of "moral disengagement." If this continues, he added, "General Norstad and I will be obliged to conceal no longer the fact that we cannot carry out our mission. The Belgians and the Dutch are not usable for the moment. The French forces are in Algeria." Furthermore, NATO's 30 reserve divisions, theoretically ready 30 days after the start of hostilities, do not for all practical purposes exist at all. The Dutch and Belgians now draft soldiers for an inadequate twelve-month period and are understrength besides; Britain's materiel stocks on the Continent are far below the levels recommended by NATO.

In addition to the military shortcomings, there is a general vexation, confusion and frustration in NATO, particularly among the smaller partners. They accuse NATO's big powers of preparing for summitry without properly consulting other members whose interests would be vitally affected by any East-West settlement.

Also no help to NATO morale is the attitude of France's Charles de Gaulle who now openly, almost contemptuously, rejects integrated European defense, the very cornerstone of the NATO concept. Upset by this, the smaller countries found a way to assert themselves when De Gaulle proposed that a permanent political consultative body be established within the new six-nation Common Market structure. Fearing this would mean domination by France, Belgium and The Netherlands bluntly vetoed the scheme. "We do not want our country run from the Quai d'Orsay," said one Dutch official.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.