America’s disintegrating global position

As intelligence analyst William Lee has documented in his book, The
ABM Treaty Charade, the Russian Federation has extensive ballistic
missile defenses — many of them disguised as Surface to Air Missiles
(SAMs). In fact, Russia may have as many as 12,000 ABMs currently
deployed.

On the American side there is no system of national ballistic missile
defense. Technology for such a defense has been researched, for
example, under presidents Johnson, Reagan and Bush. Research is also
going on today, under Clinton. But actual deployment will be resisted
by the president and — surprisingly — by America’s allies in Western
Europe.

While it is true that President Clinton has finally accepted ABM
research and development during his administration, this acceptance is
bristling with hostility to the idea of actual deployment. In fact,
Clinton has made no promises about deploying a national ballistic
missile defense. In repeated statements, Clinton holds firm to the ABM
Treaty, which Russia has been breaking from the very outset.

Western Europe opposes U.S. ballistic missile defenses too.
According to William Drozdiak of the Washington Post Foreign Service,
America’s quest for ballistic missile defense is causing alarm in
Western Europe. As insane as it sounds, Russia has an ABM defense and
Europe’s leaders express no sense of alarm. But when America takes a
few steps in this direction our friends begin to talk like enemies.

And how do our enemies talk?

The Chinese and Russians are blaming the United States for renewing
the arms race. Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces commander Vladimir
Yakovlev, after firing a warning missile a few days ago, derided the
United States for its efforts in missile defense. “The history of
weapons suggests that the shield is always weaker than a sword,” said
Yakovlev, who also hinted that Russia might come out ahead in a new arms
race. The Chinese have also been making threats of this type. Like
their Russian “partners,” the Chinese are preparing for a future missile
war.

On Friday the Chinese sent eight huge military vehicles to the
coast. These were loaded with missiles. Four other trucks were
carrying unknown military supplies — probably warheads. Since January
the Chinese have been building up their ballistic missile forces,
especially near Taiwan. They have continued to threaten the island with
invasion, and they have openly talked about sending nuclear missiles
against U.S. carrier groups and the U.S. mainland if America dares to
oppose Chinese aggression.

While threats of war continue in the Far East, a British journalist
is reporting that the United States is pulling its last nuclear weapons
out of Europe. Although the Pentagon is denying the report, I recently
spoke with a U.S. official who said there were only about 200 U.S.
nuclear weapons left in Europe. These were, in fact, tactical weapons
— the only ones remaining in the whole U.S. arsenal. The Russians, on
their side, retain over 20,000 of these weapons.

These developments — and all the belligerent talk associated with
them — continue without protest from our European allies. Rather than
waking up to the fact that Russia and China are rapidly building their
strength, Europe is concerned that America is provoking an arms race by
researching ballistic missile defense. According to William Drozdiak’s
Washington Post article on Saturday, our European allies imagine that
America is at fault for whatever happens. They also maintain that any
renewed arms race would spell NATO’s doom.

What is the logic behind these European fears?

European policy-makers apparently believe that America cannot be
trusted if it is less vulnerable than Europe. For decades a concept of
“shared risk” has crept into NATO military doctrine. Conceived by
rotten eggheads, “shared risk” is the idea that NATO cannot function if
one country has better defenses than the others. Therefore, should
America develop ballistic missile defense, NATO would be torn apart.
Drozdiak quotes a NATO official who stated that “This issue could end up
driving a stake through the heart of the alliance.”

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer agrees that a split may occur
within NATO over the issue of U.S. ballistic missile defense. In other
words, America is in a lose-lose situation. We lose our allies if we
try to defend ourselves against the Russians and Chinese, or we lose 200
million people in the event of a future nuclear conflict.

The little men who rule Europe have shown their true color, and that
color is yellow. Strictly concerned for their own peace and comfort,
the West European elites have long since left the moral high ground of
world affairs. Refusing to carry their weight in the Cold War, they
have now reached the point of threatening neutrality if Moscow and
Beijing should declare a new Cold War.

For many years America’s policy was to risk nuclear annihilation in
the defense of Western Europe. And now these same West Europeans, who
enjoy freedom today, begrudge America a chance to finally defend itself
from nuclear annihilation. Europe’s lack of concern for America’s
survival smacks of ingratitude. Are the leaders of Western Europe so
eaten with envy that they cannot see the threat to themselves?

Our NATO allies are also upset over the United States Senate’s
rejection of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Never mind that
the Russians are always violating this treaty — like all others. Not
only do the Europeans begrudge us an ABM defense, but they begrudge us a
working nuclear arsenal as well.

Think of it! The German foreign minister cannot tolerate the idea
that American cities would be safer from nuclear attack than German
cities. According to him, the very safety of America would mean greater
danger for Europe. With this twisted logic, the Europeans are basically
taking the same position as Russia and China on the issue of ballistic
missile defense.

The ABM Treaty was signed between Soviet Russia and America. The
Germans, the French and the British were not involved. It is none of
their business. After all, the weight of Russia’s Strategic Rocket
Forces is aimed at us — not them. Should another world war break out,
the greatest destruction would occur here, in the United States. The
number of nuclear weapons aimed at Western Europe are very few by
comparison.

With a president like Clinton in the White House, and with socialist
politicians in power throughout Western Europe, America’s strategic
position is disintegrating. We routinely appease the Chinese and the
Russians, and we are sniped at by our supposed friends.

The day Western Europe regards the United States as the world’s chief
threat to peace is the day when NATO is finished.

John Lily wrote in 1591, “There might I see ingratitude with an
hundred eyes gazing for benefits, and with a thousand teeth gnawing on
the bowels wherein she was bred.”