Costs of defending Europe

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32406, 19 September 1970, Page 17

Costs of defending Europe

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) BRUSSELS, Sept. 18.

The United States and her N.A.T.O. allies in Western Europe are playing cat-and-mouse, waiting for each other to determine how European members can increase their share of defence costs.

It is no secret that President Nixon would like to withdraw some of the 300,000 United States troops now stationed in Europe. This would conform with his general pol-

icy of terminating America’s attempted efforts to "police the world.” Nixon Administration sources said last month that the United Statest was studying with its allies the possibility of a mutual reduction of troop levels in Europe by N.A.T.O. and Warsaw Pact countries.

Leading Congressmen, including the Democratic Party’s majority leader, Senator Mike Mansfield, of Montana, are calling for a reduction of United States forces committed to N.A.T.O. unless European member assume a greater burden of the defence costs.

There will be no firm answers from Washington or Western Europe until the foreign, defence and finance ministers of the 15-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organisation meet in Brussels in December for their annual winter review of the situation.

The main item on the agenda will be “allied defence requirements for the 1970.” N.A.T.O. sources at headquarters in Brussels say that the United States has made it abundantly clear that the Americans believe Europe has made a full economic recovery and can contribute

more to the United States troop costs. The members, of the Sov-iet-led Warsaw Pact wait in the wings to see whethet the Americans will go ahead with a unilateral withdrawal instead of negotiating fol mutual troop pull-backs. Specifically, the Nixon Administration wants td known how N.A.T.O. countries in Europe are prepared to help to defray the costs ol American troops stationed in Europe. West Germany already offsets about 80 per cent of thi foreign exchange costs ti America for United ‘ Stata troops stationed on Germai soil.