European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 05, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes thursday May 5, t977 nato though falling behind reds can still deter War aide reports familiar scene in the Prater the giant wheel in Vienna Prater serves As a background for a Blooming Chestnut tree. Completed in 1897, the wheel serves As an observation plat form affording a wonderful View of the City on the Danube. Weakened by old age the wheel requires it to is minutes to make a Complete turn. A photo Brussels a the . And its allies Are falling behind in the arms race with the soviet bloc but their forces can still deter War if they stand together and use their resources Well according to an authoritative summary from nato head quarters. It was Given to reporters wednesday by a British colonel assigned to nato s inter National staff who asked that his name not be used. A spokesman said that although the slide show briefing on the military balance came almost on the eve of presi Dent Carter s meeting with nato leaders it had been scheduled Long before and was not connected with the Summit. The colonel quoted adm. Sir Peter Hill Norton just retired As head of nato s Mil itary committee As saying that despite All the efforts of the Alliance the military bal Ance is going against it. He added that there would be a critical situation for the next five years. He presented this uneven picture of nato s strength and weakness the soviets have achieved nuclear Equality they have an alarming superiority i chemical warfare. Their conventional strength is grow ing fast while nato s increases slowly and nato can no longer rely on its technical superiority. They Are spending it to 13 per cent of their National income every year on de sense while the average in Western Europe is 3.8 per cent in Europe soviet tanks outnumber nato s 23,000 to 11,000, soviet combat planes by 11,000 to 6,800, and they have the equivalent of 90 ground divisions in place against nato s 67. On the other hand he said free Lancing for German Magazine nato countries have better trained pilots. They have better reinforcement capabilities. They Are Superior in some anu4ank weapons. Despite soviet naval growth . Ton nage is still much greater than the soviet s and the . Navy has out built it Over the past 10 years in every category except out Moded diesel powered submarines. The briefer said that although the . Has 7.000 nuclear warheads m Western Europe for Battlefield use and the soviets Only about half As Many there is a stand off in this kind of weapon. Both sides have enough to undertake any kind of action they want he explained. He did not refer to the new soviet sex 20, a missile reported now deployed in Eastern Europe. This has been attacked in the West As destabilizing that is giving the soviets a new advantage. It is Mobile and therefore a difficult target. Some experts think it can also be converted on relatively Short notice into a mis Sile capable of hitting the . In summing up the colonel posed and answered two questions. Are Western Security and Freedom really threatened yes because of the soviet buildup its Bias toward the Offen Sive and excess of strength Over purely defensive needs. Though intentions cannot be judged the military has Given soviet Polit ical leaders a full Range of choices. Can the Western allies continue to deter aggression yes despite their differ ent economic strengths they can still bal Ance soviet military Power. To do this they have to keep together to stay politically and militarily sound and to use their re sources to the Best advantage. Exp a photographer held As spy in Zaire be Treavis the can l know _ ifs very hard to put int words but i m very thrilled " Andrew Wyeth Art a Challenge