Germans and the Pershing II.

摘要

The author concludes that the reception of the Pershings in West Germany, though hostile and noisy and turbulent, will not be violent. He also believes that in case of war--any kind of war for any kind of reason--the Germans will not fight, even if their government and their commanders would try to make them fight. Any type of organized military campaign of attack or defense by the Bundeswehr is entirely unlikely. Paradoxical though it may seem, this picture is not particularly pessimistic. The fact that NATO cannot be regarded as a genuine military alliance on the patterns of alliances prior to World War II is nothing new; the fact just has not been and is not being recognized. At the same time, the U.S. allies cannot be used for proxy wars, or for tactical war or even holding operations. They have been, for almost 40 years, protectorates of the United States, forward real estate if the super powers elect to fight each other on the ground. But they are important trading partners of the U.S., political friends, and cultural co-Westerners. It would be useful, therfore, to recognize the reality as it is.