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the burden of defence expenditure remains compatible
with our limited economic strength.
4.
Preventing war is only part of the problem posed by
the Soviet Union. At one level the Soviet system is
adventurist and expansionist and immensely powerful: at
another it is suffering from over-extension abroad and
decay at home. This sets up strains which bring out
the obstinate and pugnacious nature of the Russian
character. One of Britain's joint tasks is therefore
to manage the Soviet Empire in its present phase.
Papers covering all these aspects are circulated
separately: they bring out what steps are the most
urgently required
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5. In the Third World there are several areas where
regional conflicts touch British interests and
therefore merit British involvement. One example is
the Middle East
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6. Another is Southern Africa. The task here is to
contain and push back Soviet and other communist
influence, and to find ways of ensuring that Britain's
strategic and commercial interests in South Africa
itself are not damaged by South African domestic
policies and the adverse reactions to these. We need
to avoid having to choose between South Africa and
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