Word: neutron
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...Administration's announcement about the neutron bomb stirred some fears in Europe. The argument, which has evolved since deployment of the weapon was first discussed four years ago, is that the danger of the bomb stems from its very nature. Because it is so focused and so restricted in its effects, its opponents say, NATO generals might be too quick to use it if the Soviets attacked, thereby causing Moscow to retaliate with its own nuclear weapons. Thus it might become the catalyst for escalating a conventional war into a nuclear confrontation. Says retired General Wolf von Baudissin...
Domestic political opposition to the neutron warhead is particularly acute in West Germany, where Chancellor Helmut Schmidt faces a strong disarmament movement within his own Social Democratic Party. The S.P.D. has called upon the government, in which it is the senior coalition partner, to make clear that "these weapons will not be deployed in Europe." Said Deputy Party Chief Hans-Jürgen Wischnewski: "The Reagan Administration is obviously not yet well enough acquainted with the situation in Europe...
...decision to assemble the neutron bomb will further complicate other controversial weapons issues facing the allies, such as the upgrading of NATO's medium-range missiles as part of the planned modernization of theater nuclear forces (T.N.F.). Britain, West Germany and Italy have agreed to base new cruise and Pershing II missiles in their countries in an attempt to match the Soviets' tactical nuclear buildup. But they insisted that the T.N.F. modernization would proceed only on the condition that the U.S. would begin negotiations with the Soviet Union to limit tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. These talks...
...European reaction was unfavorable to the Administration's decision. France, which is not a member of the NATO military organization and is developing its own neutron warhead, gave what amounted to a qualified endorsement of the weapon. Said Charles Hernu, the Defense Minister in the new Socialist government of François Mitterrand: "The neutron bomb must not obscure the reality of the threats posed by the [Soviet] Euromissiles." In West Germany, Franz Josef Strauss, who was the conservative Christian Democratic opponent to Schmidt in last year's election, said that the "dismal situation of defense budgets...
NATO'S inability, or unwillingness, to match the Soviet buildup in Europe is one of the reasons the Administration has cited for launching a neutron program. In 1977, following the same reasoning, President Jimmy Carter tried to convince NATO allies to let the U.S. deploy the warheads in Europe. West German Chancellor Schmidt, despite the opposition within his own party, at that time privately assured Carter that his government would eventually allow their deployment if other NATO countries would follow suit. Publicly, Schmidt said then, as he did last week, that the production of the bomb was "solely...