CONRMENIM AL
policies to its advantage; and ultimately to draw them into the
Soviet sphere of influence.
22. Such a policy could succeed only if the West as a whole, or
individual Western countries, were to lose confidence in their
ability to sustain their own institutions.
The West must therefore
maintain a sound economic and political structure and social cohesion
on the one hand, and defence and deterrence on the other.
23.
Adequate defence calls for military forces capable of denying
any potential aggressor the prospect of an eary victory.
It
calls for a manifest military capability of conventional forces
capable of withstanding any initial attack and backed by tactical
and strategic nuclear forces which in Europe and the Atlantic
only the NATO Alliance can provide. So long as the Alliance
has such a capability, and the will to use it if necessary,
aggression of whatever sort can be deterred, and the use of military
It is for this reason
power as a political weapon neutralised.
that the political cohesion of the Alliance and its military
strategy of deterrence and flexibility in response are
important.
24. The Government is fully committed to preserving the credibility
of NATO's strategy and political cohesion. It is wholly determined
to maintain an effective British contribution to the Alliance's
forces. But some reduction in our current NATO contribution is
inevitable if the strain on the British economy is to be eased
by bringing the burden of British defence expenditure more into
line with that borne by our major European Allies.
I-9
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL