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than NATO, they welcome the assurance that the Alliance is regarden
as the lynchpin of British security, and that NATO commitments must
remain the first charge on British resources available for defence.
3. They are particularly grateful for the depth of consultation
offered, and for the assurance that only when this consultation is
completed will final decisions be announced.
4.
Nevertheless it will be no surprise to you and your colleagues
that the reductions proposed have caused considerable disquiet
within the Alliance. They are on a scale considerably larger than
that proposed by any other Ally in recent years; they affect in
varying degrees the validity of NATO defences in all Regions of
the Alliance, including the maritime areas; and they involve all
three Fajor NATO Commanders. It is not surprising, therefore, that
the NATO Military Authorities conclude that your proposals, if
implemented in full, and if not offset by compensating measures
"would represent a major reduction of NATO's defence capability
in ACE and in the ACCHAN/ACLANT area, and would correspondingly
weaken NATO's conventional military capability vis-à-vis the
Warsaw Pact".
They
5. The Defence Planning Committee endorses these views.
also endorse the assessment of the Military Committee as a whole,
the text of which is enclosed with this letter, and to the
recommendations of which I invite your attention.
6. They would also point out, however, that the proposed reduc-
tions would also have consequences of a more political and
psychological nature. The strategic situation in the Southern
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