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We do not know what line Mr Healey intends to take in Cabinet
(though we understand that the Defence Secretary has already
agreed that the bid for the defence estimates for 1975/76
should be reduced from £3750 million to £3700 million at
197 prices). But other Ministers may in any case express
similar reservations. The Secretary of State may wish to
support the Defence Secretary in arguing that any further
reductions would entail serious consequences for our security.
He could also emphasise the general point that defence and
foreign policy considerations are closely intertwined in' the
Defence Review. We must expect the severe reductions now
proposed to attract criticism from our Allies. Further
reductions could cause disproportionate damage to our
relations with our NATO partners, particularly the Americans,
and adversely affect our standing in the world. The Secretary
of State might add that the argument that we are now spending
a higher proportion of GNT on defence than our major European
Allies will not necessarily carry conviction when we come to
put our proposals to NATO. The Germans, who spend more on
defence per capita than we do, have already argued that per
capita expenditure is a more valid criterion of national
effort on defence.
NATO STRATEGY
5.
It may be argued that if current NATO strategy requires
us to spend a higher proportion of national resources on
:
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/defence