European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 5, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Quot kit a v Western european Union Europe s own defense pillar by Craig r. Whitney. Quot new York times. The crisis in the persian Gulf and the end of the. Cold War despite political uncertainty in the soviet Union Are adding fuel to a major debate. About strengthening Western Europe s defences and dependence on the United states. .7 government officials in Germany and Britain support the idea of building up the european defense pillar _ o something they Hope would encourage the United states a not to withdraw to the other Side of the Atlantic. A a but others even in Britain argue that nato May no longer be the Best Way to ensure that the United states keeps devoting resources to european defense. A v Quot nato should remain in being Only As Long As necessary to create the conditions that would allow it to be dissolved Quot sir James Eberle a retired Admiral and a former nato held commander said in a speech when he stepped Down in december As director of the Royal a a Institute for International affairs. _ the 16 nato countries agreed at a meeting in. A a London in july to transform their Alliance into a political entity and said they hoped for agreement on the outlines of a new Post cold War strategy by Early next summer. At the same time nine of nato s european members Are showing increasing interest in a now role for an _ organization they belong to a the Western european Union Wea Long slumbering pcs Tieje from the Early. Days of the Alliance. A Quot. among the nine could form the nucleus of a common military policy for the 12-nation european Community a proposal suggested by the French president Frangois Mitterrand and tire. 1 German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. _ supporters of the proposal say it would lend influence f7<7 Jeggli i \ a Ltd. To the economic and political Power of the european Community and satisfy american demands that the countries of Europe do More for their own defense. Even British officials traditionally More inclined to rely on Sovereign military Power and close links with the United states than on european cooperation for their defense. Have shown interest in the we. 7-�?-, the organization which took shape and was trying to. Organize a multinational european army in the Early 1950s, decided in August to coordinate and increase a naval activities in the persian Gulf in response to the iraqi invasion of Kuwait. K 7. 7&Quot a a before that it was used in 1987 to coordinate the a a activities of countries that sent ships to the persian Gulf to protect tankers threatened during the Iran Iraq War. Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd of Britain in a statement in Berlin on dec.10, said the we could 1 Bridge Between the european Community and the United states. A a m j 7 7 a. A. He said it might also provide the framework for a multinational reaction Force that could be used to respond to Security threats outside Europe something nato has Quot not been Able to Doi a Quot Quot a 7 Alan Clark the British minister for defense procurement also said recently that Europe needed Quot something a simmer less set in its ways than nato something capable of faster response Quot to defend itself now that the threat of overwhelming nuclear and conventional attack. From Trio soviet Union has receded a 7. Quot the purpose of nato is achieved Quot Clark said in 7 a London audience that were reported by the Independent newspaper on dec. To Quot in won. The we. Probably is the nucleus Quot of the future european defense Loie he said. One difficulty Quot is that the Western european Union _ am Olyes countries another is that m m me entry few people knew that it stiff existed its secretariat americans want european countries to do More for their own defense. Here German army recruits get uniforms. Is in London opposite the grounds of Buckingham. Palace. A 108-member parliamentary Assembly meets occasionally in Paris where the Union also Small International staff and an Institute for Security studies. Where Clark questioned what the 4,000 military and. Civilian employees at nato Headquarters in Brussels were doing anymore the Western european Union has Only 53 in London including seven Security guards two. Drivers and two messengers. Quot we have no secure communications with nato or with the National said the Secretary general Willem of Vaneekelen a former dutch defense minister. He said he would not need a vast bureaucratic Structure to support the kind of european military Force he has proposed t o be started from a brigade of 4,000 or 5,000 soldiers from each participating country with their own staffs logistical support and artillery. A single european general would exercise divisional or corps command. The we could have sent such a Force if it existed to Quot a the persian Gulf he said. A a i 7 v.--. Hurd suggested moving the Union to make it easier to coordinate with nato and the United states. But so far the suggestion has not been taken up with enthusiasm by a trance which has kept its own forces out of nato s. Military command Structure. A Vaneekelen suggested that the debate about the. American role in Europe s defences would become More. Acute after 1994, when All soviet troops have been withdrawn from Germany. A 7&Quot. Though the United states encouraged the Western european Union when it took shape in the Early 1950s. American diplomats in London Brussels and Rome Are somewhat sluttish about reviving the idea nowadays. Vaneekelen said that europeans would have to be just a Mady As Washington to consult their allies through nato before making final defense decisions in order to. A Oid racing suspicions. 7 a a. The "leaning1natohow Many desert shield troops i will return by r. Jeffrey Smith Washington Post a much smaller us. Military presence in Europe initially projected for the late 1990s, will become a reality by mid january Courtesy of iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein. Tens of thousands of the Best . Troops and hundreds of top line tanks artillery and aircraft Are being withdrawn from Europe for use in a potential War with Iraq leaving behind a . Force of roughly the size planned for a safer and More stable period years from the cuts in heavy armament Are so Large that most and Allied forces in Central Europe wll immediately come into Quot compliance with a new. East West treaty demanding Steep phased reductions in conventional arms a More a than three years before the soviet Union is required to meet the same target according to us. And Allied military officials. The result in some european capitals that the . Withdrawal May be too disorderly and Quick a _ fear exacerbated by widespread expectations that Many of the . Troops and much of the equipment will never return. A a. A. A a a some of the forces and equipment May be lost in combat with Iraq. Other troops and weaponry May be left behind in saudi Arabia As a deterrent to further iraqi aggression. And some May fall prey to shifting . Budget priorities and be shipped straight Home Many. European defense officials have predicted. Quot everybody in nato accepts the necessity the United confronted with Quot in sending forces to the persian Gulf Secretary general Manfred Worner said in a recent interview Quot but of course some countries ask the question How Many of them will come Back Quot although Washington has not yet provided an answer Worner said he does not expect All of the forces to return. He suggested that the transfers have pushed . Military forces into a downward slide toward a residual Force of. About 100,000 personnel in Europe roughly a third of the level earlier this year. To1 current plans compress into a few months . Reductions that would otherwise have taken place Over the next decade As much of the Arsenal created Over a 40-year period for a massive land War with the soviet a a Union is transferred from Snow covered German bases to the Sands of saudi this move you Are going to see Here a that . A a. A a a a a a a is amps go Schun Ollof Hesse minister president Walter Wallmann and it. Gen. George a. Joulwan bid Farewell to troops from the 8th in 158th aviation regt As they headed to saudi Arabia in september. Already started right now a is the most significant thing. That we have done. Since we came starting in 1951 under Dwight a Eisenhower Quot Gen. John t. Galvin the supreme Allied commander in Europe said in a recent interview. A. In All squadrons from eight of the 1.1 . Tactical fighter reconnaissance and Airlift wings in Europe Are 7 expected to be in the Middle East by mid january k \ according to air Force officials. 7 this unprecedented shift of air Power from the Region is matched by a massive Transfer of ground forces out of Central Germany roughly equivalent to one . Corps of about 75,000 to 80,000 personnel accompanied by More than 750-tanks, 450 armoured personnel carriers 150 howitzers and 75 attack helicopters. 7. ? Quot Quot Quot 7 7 with supporting equipment the total Transfer As of late november a the most recent Public figures a 1 -7 a included More than 20,000 wheeled military vehicles and a 4,500 tracked vehicles according to army officials. L a Force of More than 15,000 of the Best troops from the. British army on the Rhine along with 120 British tanks and More than 100 armoured personnel carriers also is being transferred from Germany to the Middle East British officials said. The reduction amounts to about one third of the total British forces in Germany allocated to nato. To move forces of this size the u a army has had to displace shipments of German goods on More than 600 a German trains and Clear entire docks in the dutch port of Rotterdam and in Antwerp Belgium to Load ships and barges. A nearly around the clock air land and sea Convoy has been established from Central military Germany to Northern and Eastern saudi provinces. A Galvin said he has commanded his personnel to answer ass org Fla h the Ritsa Quot yes. What a tie question Quot it Genevor contacted by.. Military commanders in the persian Gulf under the control of army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf. Besides giving up nearly half of his men and fighting machines Galvin As of november had parted with More ? a than 3,000 sophisticated antitank missiles nearly 1 million. A artillery rounds 50 t 000 sets of chemical Dii fens. Quot equipment and More than 1.5 million pm paid meals from army reserves under his control according to army Ollie als. Additional military equipment stood in Europe for an East West conflict including More than 60,000.chemical defense masks 300 jeep ambulances and 690 m 60a3 \ tanks has been or will soon be sold to saudi Ai Faiia r. A a 7 Bahrain and other nations collaborating in operation desert shield army officials said. At least six nato cub ratites Quot. Quot besides Germany Are helping to transport the s Mato Iier Quot there is a fear in Europe that we re Irva free tall that 7 this will just be the beginning Quot a military of Liniai said. Quot i think they realize this stuff is not going to come Tiack a a a several officials in Washington said that it it inn Attar january the capability of and Allied forces1 remaining in Europe will More than match that of soviet forces still a. Deployed in Eastern Europe including the Roi in ily 300,000 soviet troops on former East German territory anti expected out by 1992 a. A but Washington has been sensitive to the political a a consequences of the arms Transfer to the Gull Region and for the purposes of the conventional arms treaty pledged to describe allot the arms As if they had a Zanaino d it k Central Europe a in effect holding a spot open for their eventual return. 7 a is still a balance of Power equation in terms of Europe that has to be Kepi m mind Quot Secretary of state James a Baker lit said on Abc news several weeks ago. Galvin perhaps reflecting some local anxieties noted that the Transfer of these forces to the Gulf in combination with a congressionally ordered Cut of another 50,000 u a military personnel in Europe Quot is going to take us Down to a quite Low numbers Quot he said the services were discussing a a proposal to obtain a presidential exemption from the a reduction a. _ a. Cheney similarly told the House armed services committee recently that Quot we Arlen a bit of a Paradox a on the one hand undertaking massive military movement and commitment preparing for the possibility of hostilities in a major Way. While simultaneously preparing a budget a. That provides for 7. A significant reduction in military Force Structure and capability Quot a Cheney said he May sock Relief from the personnel. Restrictions voted by Congress when he submits a supplemental budget request in late january or Early. February for opera Lon desert shield but Quot such a proposal could ignite a fierce debate 5, 1991 the stars and stripes a age 15
