ACCESSION NUMBER:232370
FILE ID:PO-201
DATE:06/23/92
TITLE:ATWOOD SAYS NATO SHOULD REMAIN ESSENTIAL STRUCTURE (06/23/92)
TEXT:*92062301.POL
ATWOOD SAYS NATO SHOULD REMAIN ESSENTIAL STRUCTURE

(Vital to peace in changing Europe)  (780)
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
USIA Security Affairs Writer
Washington -- Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald Atwood says the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) "ought to remain the essential security
structure for the North Atlantic part of Europe."

NATO's strength and vitality in the post-Cold War "is one guidepost to
success," he said, while another "is the importance of preserving our
military capability" in this time of rapid political, technological, and
regional change.
1
Addressing the Atlantic Council of the United States and the Eurogroup June
22 in Washington, Atwood said the alliance's integrated command structure
is embedded in NATO, that allied military forces are committed to it, and
that the alliance has proven it works.

At the same time, he said, the alliance recognizes "that NATO is part of an
interlocking network of mutually reinforcing institutions that keep Europe
strong," including the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
(CSCE), the European Community (EC) and the Western European Union (WEU).

Collective security was "at the heart of our victory" in the Cold War, he
said, and it "will be at the heart of our ability to make continued
progress in the years ahead."

The United States supports British Defense Minister Malcolm Rifkind's recent
proposal, Atwood said, to develop a military capability for the WEU which
would include "the Franco-German corps in a way that it is fully compatible
with our NATO objectives."

The deputy secretary also noted that alliance members are developing closer
ties to former adversaries to the East and working together "to build a new
Europe in which security is no longer an issue among our nations."

He also cited the importance of the CSCE's recent decision to support
peacekeeping efforts "on a case-by-case basis."

In the United States, Atwood said, defense strategy is being adjusted to
prepare for a "vastly different strategic environment."  The new approach,
he explained, is designed to help shape the post-Cold War world and support
"the positive direction of change" with smaller force levels and at a lower
cost.

The new U.S. strategy calls for "a crisis response capability," the deputy
secretary explained, allowing short-notice power projection to various
regions of the world.  It also calls for maintaining forward deployed U.S.
troops in critical areas of the world, he said, although in fewer numbers
than in the past.

In Europe, the United States will maintain one corps headquarters, Atwood
said, two Army divisions and corps support elements along with highly
capable air and naval forces.  Forward deployed forces will be supported by
"highly mobile, fast-reaction contingency forces located in the United
States," he added.

Atwood said the United States should maintain such forces as long as they
contribute to stability and are wanted by European nations.  While costly,
such deployments are less expensive than withdrawing and then returning
them during a particular crisis, he said.

The U.S. strategy also calls for the ability to reconstitute military forces
quickly if they are needed, Atwood said; remaining forces meanwhile must
maintain their technological edge over potential adversaries.  Finally, he
said, the strategy includes a strong nuclear deterrent.

Regarding the recent Bush-Yeltsin summit, the deputy secretary said the two
leaders took an extraordinary series of arms control steps.  "They jointly
announced an agreement to eliminate land-based multiple-warhead nuclear
missiles," he said, "the most dangerous and destabilizing nuclear weapons."
 Both sides will be reducing their nuclear warheads to between 3,000 and
3,500 by the year 2003, the official said, or even sooner if possible.

Atwood said the two sides as well will explore concepts for global
protection against ballistic missile strikes.

"The spread of weapons of mass destruction is a matter of serious concern,"
1e said, adding that it is essential for allies to "cooperate energetically
to control the proliferation of weapons to unstable areas of the world
(which) will help reduce the risk of destructive regional conflict."

Non-proliferation efforts will also generate cost savings through systems
which "we will not have to build if we succeed in better controlling these
threats," Atwood said.

The deputy secretary said the United States is pleased that the Ukraine,
Belarus and Kazakhstan have signalled their intention to join the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty regime as non-nuclear weapons states.

In an era of constrained resources, Atwood said, the NATO alliance can
provide logistic and financial advantages both on and off the battlefield.
"We need to do more (defense) co-production," he stressed, "and we need to
pick some programs for joint development."

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