AS MICHAEL HESELTINE gazed across the Berlin Wall, ignored by the world's press, half a million people demonstrated against the missiles in West Germany and Britain. CND had won the first round of the propaganda battle with the Tories.
But the theme which Heseltine was trying to place at the centre of the disarmament debate - that of an embattled West faced by an aggressive Soviet Union - has had an impact in some surprising quarters.
Moving left In particular, Tribune, a newspaper which has been moving to the left under its new editor Chris Mullin, ran an article by him on its front page advocating a conventional nuclear strategy against the Russians. 'If some form of national service is the price that has to be paid for a non-nuclear defence policy then so be it' the article states.
It was even more surprising because in the same issue diarist John Street, who is known to be in sympathy with Mullin's views, correctly chastises Joan Ruddock responsibility for the arms race between East and West.
Main problem But is defence against the Soviet Union the main problem facing the labour movement in relation to the debate on disarmament? Let that question be decided by a brief inspection of the active role of our 'defence forces today.
Apart from forays to defend our more distant colonial possessions, the major role of the armed forces today is holding down the nationalist population in the north of Ireland. In addition the frequent stand-by mobilisations and HMS Keren hijacking confirm the strike breaking role of the military.
Britain's standing army is best equipped fo counter-insurgency In that context to advise the strengthening of the armed forces through the re introduction of national service is a suicidal course for the Correctly, it would be rejected out of hand by the hundreds of thousands youth who are used to such blimpish proposals from the right as a solution to both unemploy.
against the 'invaders'. But the British Army is the last institution to teach such techniques to a conscript army It reserves this role for the elite counter-revolutionary squads of the SAS. cher's finger from both the trigger of nuclear argument for pacificism. does need to defend itself, but against the very forces that Mullin proposes we strengthen.
enough. As we argue elsewhere in this issue the trade unions now have to seriously consider industrial action to stop the missiles.
This should be the objective of papers such as Tribune. Not advocating the wrong answer to Editor: ALAN FREEMAN Published weekly except two weeks in August and the last week of December.
Signed articles by contributors do not necessarily represent Socialist callorials Send all correspondence regarding subscriptions, sales and receipts to Socialist Action Distribution, 328 Upper Street London N1 2XP. sena all materlar for pubicanon (including advertsing, to Socialist Action Editorial at the same address. We regret that due to the high cost of postage we cannot return or acknowicare unsonculca copy or nolograons unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.
instead for ascribing equa the by xercises abroad and a objective should be to remove ThatThe labour movement demonstrations are not Action's views. These are expressed in (Tel: 01-359 8180)