THE LIMITATIONS OF NATO
SIR,—Sir Stephen King-Hall has misunderstood the nature of my dissent from his view that large-scale nuclear war would necessarily follow the use of tactical nuclear weapons by the NATO powers to halt a Russian conventional invasion of Western Europe. The essential point is that by being the first side to strike with the tactical nuclear weapons, the NATO forces would break up the Soviet offenske formations and instantly iimtroy sections of the vital supply roads, etc., directly behind the Soviet front? thereby bringing the Red Army to an immediate halt? The Russians would probably destroy the Rhine bridgeheads with tactical nuclear weapons in order tc disrupt the deployment of the NATO conventional forces; but the NATO command would then have no need to proceed any farther, because the Red Army would have already been stopped; subsequent attacks by both sides with larger weapons on the Eastern and Western European population centres would be unnecessary. Indeed, should the West re- ceive after its first strike a `twelve-hour warning to lay off 'tactical] nuclear weapons,' we could inform the enemy of our willingness to do so, having achieved the immediate object of stopping the con- ventional invasion of Western Europe.
I do not for one moment dispute the contention that it would be preferable to halt a Soviet attack with adequate NATO conventional forces rather than with tactical nuclear weapons, but whilst the British and French governments continue to neglect their NATO commitments in order to pursue the un- attainable goal of Great Power nuclear independence, this cannot be realised. But if Sir Stephen doubts that it is the tactical nuclear arm of NATO which is pre- venting an attack on Western Europe, could he say what barrier it is that holds the Russians in check?
As to his request for evidence that our tactical nuclear weapons are 'clean,' weapons used in the close proximity of friendly populations would necessarily have to be—or they could not be so used.
—Yours faithfully. A. R. NICHOLSON Flat 1, 137 Tulse Hill, SW2
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