Word: nato
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...deeply grateful for the Prime Minister's strength and support. In the Iranian crisis, Thatcher has been more encouraging "from the first moment," Carter noted, than other allies. On defense, Thatcher, dubbed the "Iron Lady" by the Kremlin, led the support of Washington's proposal to modernize NATO'S arsenal with medium-range nuclear weapons, readily accepting them on British soil...
...soon as feasible" 1,000 of the 7,000 U.S. war heads presently positioned in Europe, most of them in obsolete weapons such as land mines and bombs. The action was intended as a response to the ongoing withdrawal of outmoded Soviet tanks from East Germany, or, as a NATO diplomat acknowledged less than respectfully, "our garbage for their garbage." The Soviets have been giving conflicting signals as to whether they would be prepared to hold arms talks at the present time. It is clear, however, that in the negotiations that will surely be held eventually, last week...
Similarly, in Belgium, the NATO proposal was opposed by powerful members of the Socialist Party, a component of the fragile government coalition. In a parliamentary meeting, Foreign Minister Henri Simonet arrogantly declared that some of his party colleagues "would be better employed drawing comic strips than dealing with foreign affairs." In Denmark and Norway, some leftists also had strong reservations about the missile plan. For a while it looked as if NATO might degenerate into what the West Germans had always feared it could become if left alone to shoulder the nuclear responsibility: a two-tier organization of small powers...
...last week's meeting, Vance and U.S. Defense Secretary Harold Brown argued that NATO must act immediately on the missile decision. They also pointed out that the Iran crisis had reawakened the U.S. to the dangers to its own security, and they emphasized that for the solidarity of the alliance, the European members should be visibly responsive to the Iran problem. NATO members did indeed give Vance a statement of support on Iran, though it was not the strong endorsement of U.S. policy he had sought...
...NATO members avoided a serious open split, but obvious differences remained. The final communique declared that NATO would press forward with the deployment of the missiles in "selected countries." NATO Secretary-General Joseph Luns confirmed that the countries were Britain, West Germany and Italy; he added that "Belgium and The Netherlands may accept the missiles later." Both recalcitrant countries said that they might well accept the missiles on their territory if there were no progress in disarmament negotiations with the Soviet Union; Belgium said it would reconsider in six months, The Netherlands in two years...