WITH HUGE media fanfare, the treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear weapons from Enrope was signed at the White House daring Mikhail Gorbachev's visit to Washington which began on Morday 7 December. political significance. But it will remove less than three per cent of the nuclear weapons in the world and its political ramifications are far more important than its military ones. CAROL TURNER looks at some of its implications.
treaty is be welcomed. significance far bevond which he point that SUre the lead-up to its signing, discussions about 'regional nave obviously meant agree ments, Despite the media hype, •LEC about not The event is clearly of major ingly committed to 'peace and freedom', but because at this moment in time it matches tne material interests of both. It certainly Many change of heart by the United States.
Clear It is clear that the cost of the arms race places an CHOHLOUS the the Soviet Union. Gorbachev has obpolitical opening that the IN deal creates togethe with the reduced strain on the Soviet defence budget, is well worth the military disadvantages. The USSR will be removing almost twice as many nuclear weapons as the USA under this deal.
It has equally clear advantages for the United States economv as well -a fact given little mention in the bourgeois press The US spends OrCthird of its huge military budget 'defending' Western Europe. Contributions from the NATO allies simply do not compensate America for the amount it spends.
Given the increasing strain on the US budget in recent years, there has been mounting pressure to nuclear first made.
future. will will take at country non-nuclear.
weapons?
They will Europe with other weapons deal. to allow HILO ports? And, most crucial Bloomfield's logic, nuclear weapons to be eliminated?
means scrapping weapons CYCL foreign interests. That what. is unpalatable ship Eurocommunist like Jon Bloomfield.
LADOUL mato change directed at ment is not Unilateralists outmoded.
mament. cut back the part of the USA's military spending. This has been ncreased by the dollar acvaluation in tne wake ol the stock market's crash of of cutting the US presence in Europe has been quite openly discussed around the INF treaty.
The dollar devaluation - the primary mechanism by which the US is attemp.
bring the crash US-West European tensions. The value one lowers the West Europear US petitive and, inturn, West exports more European exports to the US more expensive.
All sharply Europe.
devaluation and the INF secalready exmutable' 1987 2 December The American presCICC towards the OI EurAn article in The Times of Thursday 10 December, by Frank Johnson, immediately after the INF treaty had been signed was still more explicit. It , argues that the INF treaty heralds the running down mitment to West Europe: the withdrawal of protec tion may have begun this week.
But after the signing of the INF treaty the question now is what is the strategic way forward for •Western Europe? Fundamentally there are only two paths to be taken.
The first is that West capitalism can aecide to increase its own armaments. Hence the attempts at reviving the West European Defence the recent talks between Britain and France on the possibility of pooling their forces, and so on.
Aims relations United States But means States the ex by the Europe.
La situation m up yet down wages.
ped up • 11 Europe decides arsenals.
Europe. but on detente with the Soviet radical reduction and utilising the economic resources released bv thi for economic reconstruction. This is the policy being advocated by sections of the movement demands must be supported. All evidence however, that it is not a viable capitalist strategy at all.
Since World War I, West Eruopean capitalism has to survive independent of to survive independent the United States 1917 to 1923 there was economic chaos throughout Europe which led to the Russian Hungarian revolunons, une aempiec German revolution, and to the Hapsburg monarchy Austria Instabilitv in Europe was only halted United the mone tha States ploughed into the continent via the Dawe a0 1926 past European 1926. capital expanded in the 1920s only on the basis of capital loanea by America When United States money was pulled oul of Europe following the 1929 Wall Street crash, the capitalist economies Europe collapsed again. In the • cudo: cusued once more, Hitler rose to Germanv World War II was fought
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