Is NATO Solid and Is It Otherwise Adequate?

Abstract

The NATO alliance answers a fundamental need for France and for the other free nations of the West and, for that reason, rests on solid ground. It could serve its pur poses more adequately, however, if certain changes in the world situation which have taken place since its conception were more fully taken into account. In 1949 communism was on the march in Europe; NATO was devised in answer. Today, the Communist challenge is global. Although NATO would not itself extend its obligations, those of its members with world wide interests should establish closer co-operation in foreign policy and global strategy based upon their wartime and NATO experiences. Continental Europe in 1949 was recover ing from the destruction of war. European countries feared that they were no longer subjects, but objects, of history. The need now exists to find a better balance between unified com mand and governmental responsibility. Without a feeling of partnership, European countries could still become indifferent. When NATO was conceived, the United States possessed a monopoly on atomic weapons; this no longer is the case. Of the continental European countries, France is in the best posi tion to pursue atomic research and development. France, also, is in a position to promote the unification of Europe, this not to the exclusion of the United States and Great Britain but to the greater strength of all.—Ed.