European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 24, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday september 24, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Salty Jacobsen coup failure Likely to Speed nato changes the decline of soviet Central authority follow ing last months coup attempt is Likely to Speed up nato s plans to streamline the Western Alliance analysts say. Nato officials and defense analysts say a Security arrangement to balance the soviet s still formidable military and guard against any instability in Europe must remain in place in Western Europe. They cite the yugoslav conflict As the kind of unrest that could recur. But the failed coup by Moscow hard liners last month left the soviet Union in disarray. Most experts now believe that the danger of an All out East West War a the reason for creating the North Atlantic treaty organization in 1949 a has passed. The end of the cold War Means the 16-nation Alliance can now move More quickly to revamp by slashing its troops nuclear weapons and military profile in Europe. A it is an enormous speeding up of where we thought we were headed a William h. Taft in the american ambassador to nato said in an interview. Indeed some analysts contend that the collapse of soviet Central authority could Lead to the demise of natos elaborate military apparatus because it simply wont be needed. A a it a the end of this nato a said Peter Ludlow director of the Brussels based Center for european policy studies. A a it a not the end of any  nato linking the United states and Canada to 14 nations in Western Europe was formed to thwart a military threat from Josef Stalin a soviet Union. The Alliance built up an Arsenal of conventional and nuclear weapons and massed hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Central Europe. Members pledged to treat an attack on one As an attack on All. But the ouster of communist governments in Eastern Europe the disintegration of the soviet led Warsaw pact military Alliance and the failed soviet coup have now virtually eliminated any massive threat from the East. Nato officials though Arentt ready to abandon the Alliance. A the whole uncertainty element is even More True than it was a said Simon Lunn Deputy Secretary general of the North Atlantic Assembly a grouping of legislators from nato nations. Nato Secretary general Manfred Werner noted a we Are still a Long Way from a world without risks dangers and threats. A the shape of things to come is indeed perhaps less predictable today than at any time since the permafrost of communism began to melt a he said in a speech in Tokyo. Still president Bush and other nato leaders agreed at a Summit last year in London to redo their military strategy to reflect reduced East West tensions. They promised to rely less on nuclear weapons and make do with fewer soldiers in Germany the strategic Center of Europe. Moreover they invited Mikhail s. Gorbachev president of their Long time adversary for a visit. They have scheduled another Summit in Rome in Early november to put the finishing touches on their new look nato. At nato Headquarters work continues on the strategic review the blueprint for a revamped Alliance that will be approved at the Rome Summit. Nato insiders say the plan will emphasize the political rather than the military Side of the Alliance including efforts to draw the soviet Union and East european nations closer through informal diplomatic ties. It will endorse the sweeping overhaul of defense forces approved last Spring by nato defense ministers. Crisis management and flexibility will be new goals. At the Center will be a rapid reaction corps designed for the mid-1990s to Rush soldiers to danger spots on nato territory. With a diminished soviet menace the unit could become the source for All european defense forces sent to crises outside nato. France Italy and Belgium want the european Community Trade bloc to develop its own defense Arm. Nuclear weapons will stay in the Arsenal but at a reduced level. Nato leaders will Likely propose Sharp cuts if not elimination of land based Short Range nuclear weapons. But they still want the United states to keep some soldiers on the unpredictable european continent. The United states will slice its forces to 150,000 in the coming years from about 260,000. Analysts expect further cuts Down to 100,000 or lower under congressional pressure for budget savings. The associated press Ernest b. Furgurson playing the go along game hurts America the time honoured Way to get ahead is to Tell the Boss what he wants to hear. Sometimes it s harmless As it would be for Dagwood to Tell or. Dithers that his new Toupee looks great. But the game is played every Day at More serious Levels too. Many a bureaucrat has made hard hitting speeches drafted to impress the president rather than inform the luncheon guests in front of him. Sadly Many a government analyst has slanted reports on National Security issues just to win favourable notice from on High. Ambition makes them do it. Although it does not seem the height of honesty one nominee for High office is insisting that he played that game a and that because he did the Senate should make him a Justice of the supreme court. Yet before another committee accusations that another nominee played the game seem to be the greatest threat to his becoming director of the Central intelligence Agency. Clarence Thomas As chairman of the equal employment Opportunity commission during the Reagan administration Laid Down a Long paper Trail of his opinions on the most controversial issues of the decade. Those speeches and articles consistently upheld the ideology of the Reagan right often challenging court rulings that stood As the Law of the land. Not surprisingly republicans in Power were delighted by the Novelty of a Young Black lawyer who agreed with them across the Board and decided that he was just the person the nation needed on its highest courts. They picked Thomas for the court of appeals and despite his inexperience he immediately joined the Short list of potential nominees for the supreme court. Before the Senate judiciary committee judge Thomas has not quite said that he spoke out the Way he did just to Advance himself but one of the Many profiles written since his nomination reports that when Reagan aides asked Early on what Job he would like most he said the supreme court. Fiory i am slip by Alf Tuff. Or that Crook Cranston 1hsmthw is Weir business 0> a l a a Fratu. Phil Deks telex amp on mgt ehd0rsin6 a  set Quot gos if we wants to attack if Fyfo Cost adj maker k0in6dv, oa1wat Lafal a St by Dan it amp to nov ref Tjwie to Evolt c on at it Quot r a. According to him he spoke and wrote As he did in the �?T80s a on matters that did and did not concern the Leoc a because he was a  now that he is a judge and wants to be a Justice he says All those words should be forgotten. After All he was just pleasing the Boss. And according to some on the Senate intelligence committee Robert Gates May have distorted Cia studies in order to please the Reagan White House. As Deputy director of the Agency he allegedly removed differing opinions from a report that alleged Kab involvement in the plot to kill Pope John Paul ii. In a Public speech he made soviet anti missile Progress seem dramatic which provided ammunition Tor Reagan so Star wars a project. Senators maintain that intelligence agencies did not adequately warn the administration of the breakup of communist Eastern Europe the iraqi invasion of Kuwait the collapse of soviet communism and civil War in Yugoslavia. They want to know whether gales after moving to the White House National Security office saw that intelligence reports fit known administration policies. In the Good old Days when Sam Rayburn was speaker of the House incoming freshmen were often told a the Way to gel along is to go along a with whatever congressional elders decided. Unlike Thomas Gates is not eager Lor the Senate to believe that he was just going along to get along. Although lies Are common currency for both sides in worldwide intelligence w ars honesty is essential in re porting within the Agency a own government. Any president conscious of history should demand credibility and objectivity from those he picks for High office. If he suspects he is not getting it he should raise hell until he does. Unfortunately presidents often make policy on ideological grounds before the facts Are in and then done to want to hear facts that Challenge that policy. Even at the lowest Levels ambitious men understand this. By saying what the fat resident wants to hear the smartest Luckiest or most ambitious among them Rise to positions where they done to have to play that game any longer. As a country the Best we can Hope is that once confirmed they realize just that. Tho Baltimore Sun