The Defence of Europe
Among several useful and unpretentious publications issued lately by the Conservative Central Office the latest, Pattern of Peace, by Brigadier Anthony Head, M.P., must take a high place. Brigadier Head understands defence problems as well as any man in Parliament, and he sets out the essentials of the present situation with a clarity that is at once disturbing and salutary. Russian strength is known approximately ; so is Western defence strength ; and the gap between the two is depressingly wide. That in itself sufficiently explodes the legend of Anglo- American imperialism, for no country or countries in whose equipment for war such glaring deficiencies are manifest could be foolhardy enough to contemplate any form of aggression. The prospect is in many respects better than it was a year or eighteen months ago, with the machinery of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation now working smoothly, and the personality and professional competence of General Eisenhower creating general confidence. But the best we can hope for is to have some thirty N.A.T.O. divisions available in Europe by the end of this year out of a necessary minimum of fifty, and strength in the air falls at least as short proportionately of what is needed. Next year the outlook should be considerably improved, and two nations, Germany and Spain, may have made contributions which Brigadier Head has deliberately left out of account. Yugoslavia, moreover, which he has not mentioned, might in certain circum- stances come effectively into the picture. It is possible to argue that Russia does not want open war, and that if she did she would have attacked already. On that showing we might desist from rearmament altogether. But since to do that would be to invite attack, there is nothing for it but to go -forward till we can negotiate with the Soviet Union on equal terms.
Previous page
