European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes Christoph Bertram Gorbachev demonstrated weakness strength Mikhail s. Gorbachev the Man of continuity in surprises pulled off another one with his new York speech. By announcing unilateral cuts in the soviet armed forces Gorbachev demonstrated both weakness and strength inc weakness of s soviet Economy that makes rapid culs in defense expenditures imperative and the strength of his own authority. Out of economic necessity Gorbachev has made a diplomatic virtue. One can Only Hope that the West might take a Leaf Sutof Hisook. Gorbachev is eager to reduce the bloated machine of the red army. Of course he has taken other Arais control initiatives before but when it comes to saving Money As Western politicians Well know curbing nuclear weaponry does not make much difference thereal Money lies in cuts in conventional forces. To get there the soviet Lender has moved a Long  meet Western demands for conventional forces stability at least in theory the practice was to come inthe East West negotiations on conventional forces scheduled to begin in Early 1989. But he and his advis ers became increasingly aware that once under Way the negotiations would get bogged Down in bureaucratic wrangling Over All the complicated details. Yet the Kremlin is obviously convinced that i needs results More quickly than negotiations Are Likely to deliver. The Burden or defense on the soviet econ omy simply must be reduced soviet Industry must be Recd from the Many shackles of the military bureaucratic Complex Gorbachev also needs to Lay the basis for a leaner trimmer modernized military Struc Ture if the red army it to keep up with technological improvements in Western forces. Rather than Wail for the negotiations to deliver a Laboured Compromise sometime in the future Gorbachev decided to preempt them. Only a few months Back his government had suggested that half a million men should be Cut from theft rfcs of both military alliances As a second  he is taking that step unilaterally it is for any statesman a highly unusual step Totake and a particularly courageous one Tor a soviet Leaden after All Nikita Khrushchev dared a similar step in the late 1950s and was removed from Power a few years later. This Lime too there must have Bee considerable opposition from the military leadership. When i talked in late september with chief of staff marshal Sergei Fakhro Mayev he was Adamant that there was no Case for unilateral soviet troop cuts. Now Fakhr Omeyer has resigned allegedly for health reasons. Perhaps that was indeed the cause for his Depar Ture though Only two months ago he seemed both in goo health and in command but there can be no double that Andrew Rose trial Loh,R\Ksra-me6gha,, com60n in excuse we mess we Getaw Smahin the soviet military Hierarchy was profoundly unhappy about the Gorbachev move As any military establish ment the world Over would be. The fact that Gorbachev nevertheless overruled such opposition shows both the depth of his conviction and uie strength of his political Confidence. But what about inc West if in is the Mark of the states Man to accept the inevitable and to turn it to his advantage Gorbachev has earned the title. Of course he has no thrown away the soviet numerical advantage in conventional forces that will still remain after the announced cuts arc implemented. But he has put his credibility on theline that there will be significant unilateral reductions plus negotiations. Now Western governments applaud him and Western Public opinion asks Why their leaders cannot do the same As the reformer in the Kremlin. That question is indeed justified. For it is not Only the soviet Union that is squeezed by inc military Bur Den. Economic and demographic pressure operate though to a much lesser degree in the West As Well. Ftp Kjin the United Stales Wilt find in very difficult to combined Zero growth in defense outlays with a Zero reduction in the size of its forces. West Germany s bundles Chr nato s most important conventional Force on the european continent already suffers from demographic shrinkage nato s foreign ministers have responded to Gorbachev s new York announcements by finally agreeing to a common position on the forthcoming East West negotiations on conventional farces. That is no doubt to be welcomed anything less would have been a serious diplomatic Flop Bui there must be those in the meeting rooms in Brussels who like Gorbachev know that negotiations will take More time than nato has. If Gorbachev can turn economic weakness into Diplo Matic strength Why should the West not follow suit and announce now in a grand gesture culs in its Force that in a few years will have happened anyway Siam diplomatic torn pendent of Oil Tom in a Miami. We i Muiir Molo iti4 column Tor the Loa Anaf Loftt times. Speech a Washington in just Over an hour at the Ros Trum of the . General Assembly soviet Leader Mikhail s. Gorbachev presented. President elect George Bush with what May be inc greatest Challenge in soviet american relations since the cuban missile crisis an invitation to make fundamental changes in the relationship into which the superpowers have set lied during four decades of cold War confrontation. And uneasy detente i. It is much Loo Early to say How tar Bush or Gorbachev will go toward that end and Gorbachev s invitation May be an exhortation to do the impossible implicit in his vision is the idea that the United tales should abandon the notion of the soviet Adver sary and see instead a cordial if not necessarily Friendly competitor in what Gorbachev called a fair rivalry.  is a marked difference in american attitudes toward the soviet Union but a sea change of inc kind Gorbachev proposed would require Bush to Cross fundamental threshold of belief and Trust that an american president May Noi want to broach. Many westerners took Gorbachev a speech delivered before he returned Home to command Relief efforts after a devastating earthquake in Armenia As the most Concrete sign cd thai he Means what he says about new thinking on arms control a More open society and a different language for the East West dialogue. For others Gorbachev s words dramatic and captivating As they were suggested a More Basic transformation of the Way the soviet Union conducts its for eign and military policy than Gorbachev might be Able or willing 10 achieve. Whether his speech is a historic turning Point tantalizing vision of superpower condominium that can never be or something in Between Gorbachev has forced new attention on a debate that has engrossed americans since the unpredictable communist part general Secretary swept to Power in March 1 985. B it time to create a new american policy that matches not Only the new leadership in Moscow but also a world that some soviet specialists believe has moved beyond cold War and even detente it is the end of the postwar world said Jerry Hough a soviet Logist at Duke University and the Brookings institution. We re not going to invade them and they re not going to invade us. The Challenge now is thai economic strength is a More important Chip and what we need is a president with an economic interest not just a Mili tary Security  or is it time for the United Stales and its Western allies to wait and see How the soviet Leader proceeds does it not be Hoove the americans to continue Deal ing with Moscow offensively moving ahead on such Points of Contention As Star wars to induce even More " it is far too Early to change course said Caspar. , the former Secretary of defense. ?. The jury has barely left lie courtroom on Gorba Thuv let alone come Back with a verdict. We have to keep up our guard and that Means we have to keep doing what we have been doing but do it  thus Gorbachev s Challenge serves As a backdrop for crucial decisions the new president must make at a Lime of increasing pressure Al Homo and in Western Europe for cuts in military spending. There is a growing sentiment especially in Europe Hal changes in inc soviet Union present a Golden Opportunity to shift attention and resources from East West confrontation to Trade and economic development.  s speech was a Brilliant stroke of Public relations and of diplomatic one up Manship offering proposals weighty enough that they could not be Dis missed but leaving enough unanswered questions to preserve the soviet bargaining  most dramatic statements involved the armed forces deployed by both sides in Central Europe. Gorbachev said that Over two Yeara he would Cut soviet Lanki in Europe in half and reduce the  Mil lion Strong soviet armed forces by about 10 percent the use or threat of Force no longer can or must bean instrument of foreign policy he said Western military experts were Quick to note that the soviet armed forces would still be twice As Large As the american military but Gorbachev s announce men May still put pressure on the United suites to make a counterproposal and lend strength 10 hos who advocate removal of american forces from Europe i. F i at he same time Many argue thai the United stale must proceed cautiously because soviet forces main lain the Kremlin s control of Eastern Europe. To Niyork rum