PT Jan-67 - Herbert W. Armstrong Library and Archives

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26 The PLAIN TRUTH January, 1967 France is to have any long-term voice in world politics, she must become a strong member of the atomic club, Just how strong is De Gaulle's nuclear force? French Nuclear Force The French nuclear weapons program has finished its sixth year of development. It won't be completed until the early seventies. This French effort will give other hopeful candidates to the nuclear club an idea of what is in store for them - since it is being built on a do-it-yourself basis. To becomc a full-fledged member, the entry fee is high! Large sums of money, vast technical and engineering know-how, more money, a great deal of lime, and st iH more money afC rcguired. Even France as the world's fifth largest industrial power has had to sacrifice in order to meet the gualifications. France's total tab for the next six years' nuclear qevelopment will be on the order of 10 to 12 billion dollars. The force is expected to produce a total explosive power of 40 megatons by 1970 - about seven times the total amount of TNT exploded in World War II. American defence experts, who claimed a stockpile of 300,000 megatons of weapons as of 1961, ridicuJe the French program. However, the Frendl force, as it is presently planned, is 110t an ojJen.rh;e force but is merely defon .flue. It is likened to the sting of a bee. The idea is that the potential aggressor would prefer to go elsewhere than to receive a bad sting. Using twelve KC-135 jet tankers purchased from the United States for midair refueling, the French fee l they could knock out at least five Russian citi es using their supersonic Mirage 4 bombers armed with 6o-kiloton bombs. They feel confident that Russian defences cou ld be penetrated by low-level air attack to th is degree at least well into the late sixties. The French are banking on the unwillingness of the Russians to trade five of their cities for the complete destruction of France. The French atom force was pushed through by De Gaulle for two reasonSj one, the prestige and power it gives him over his European neighbors; two, as a means of overcoming complete rei iance on the U. S. for protection. Ever since the Cuban crisis there has been a growing fear among Europeans that the United States just might not be willing to trade the risk of all-out war AmbolSodor CoII"ge Phofo With arms outstretched in typical pose, President de Gaulle arouses throngs gathered at Place Feillet, NoumEw, New Caledonia. with Russia just for the defence of Europe. For this reason De Gaulle has pushed atomic development. De Gaulle's Strategy ~an in a IIurry De Gaulle sees little time left for him to play the really big role in the New Europe. He precipitated the NATO crisis to speed things up. He has been described as "an old man in a hurry." The elements of a great European change are ali' about. There is emerging communist satellite llalionalism led by Romania. The increasing Soviet an.xiety over the bad boy of communism - China. American preoccupation in Asia. And most recently, the emcrg ing nationalistic Germ an impatience for reunification! De Gaulle went to Moscow last year to see what he could do to speed up the cold war thaw. He suggested that France and Russia could prepare the ground for a settlement of the German and European problem. H e strengthened the relationship between France and Russia by starting the sol idification of cooperative scientific and trade agreements. The groundwork has been guietly laid over the past three years. Note too, that he took care not to short-sell either the Gennans or the U. S. A., nor to conclude a deal at their expense, De Gaulle, as well as Russia, knows that for the time being America will play a part in the solution of European affairs. De Gaulle is gambling for Germall slIpport. He had this support with Chancellor Adenauer, with whom he established a very close party spirit! Both wefe critical of the "Anglo Saxons," Both envisaged a hierarchical, Catholic commonwealth of Europe. Then later under Erhard and his pro American Defence Minister Schroeder, the Franco-German honeymoon-ship hit the rocks. De Gaulle knows he has no chance of lead ing Germany or Europe as long as the American colossus is present on the Continent. The U. S. State Department knows its European influence depends upon Germany remaining a faithflll ally. D e Gaulle now knows that he can bank on greater German support since
January, 1967 The PLAIN TRUTH 27 the new coalition government has taken over. Instead of De Gaulle's influence in Europe diminishing, it has been steadi· ly gainillg. His low regard fo r NATO is not unique to him. It is shared by image of himself as an honest brokera trustworthy neutral- an iJldepell~ dent arbiter between East and West. De Gaulle the realist, however, kno\vs that France is too weak to stand alone and too weak to become a partner of Ambassador College Photo Eve n the vigorous French President tired from inte nsi ve activity and ceremony on Pacific tour. other European leaders. The U. S. must admit that Europe has lost confidence in American leadership - NATO is finished. An era has drawn to a close. Why have Adenauer and Strauss Germany's strongest and most deter ~ mined politicians thus far - steadfastly supported De Gaulle' West Germany is a political midget. Germany desperately seeks reunification. But reunification is ent.irely in the hands of Russi a. The USSR and much of Europe fear a strong, uncontrolled, unified Germany. Especially a Germany possessing 1l11cle(11' llIeapons. But Germany Ul(lIlts both.' She craves atomic weapons for the same reasons De Gaulle does. There is no guarantee, say Germans, that an alliance partner will use his arlTIS to defend Germany if the risks are too great. Smart Germans can see the possib ili ~ ty of attaining all their aims through De Gaulle. Through his patronizing nelltralist pose, and his ever.increaslOg contact with Russia, he is building an the U. S. But he thinks (or hopes) that he just might be able to restrain German ambitions long enough to be~ come a sen ior partner to Bonn on a 55-45 basis. This is his price to Bonn for gOIng all~out for German reuni{jcation. BLlt wi ll De Gaulle's plan for Ellropeanizing the Germans become, in r ea l~ ity, the Germanization of Em'ope? Just as W cst Germany neecisF rance now, /7l'fluce also needs Ge,.man)' - and De Gau lle knows it, all illusions of g randeur notwithstanding. De Gaulle can afford to push NATO out of France, but he can't afford to puJJ out of the Common Market! This would be economic slficide for France_ France by herself cannot compete with the U. S. or the USSR. But France and Germany closely all ied, working side-by~sj d c in bringing the rest of Europe in tow - that is another matter. Even Russia would begin to respect such a union - a combined population of over 100 million and total industrial capacity twice that of Britain. Eu ropean Atom Force Inevitable If a united Europe (however loosely confederated) is to become a realityfree, as De Gaulle would have it, from American pressure - it mlfst have its own independent military [mce. De Gaulle would have this be his atomic Force de Frappe - entirely under French control. But the hard facts for President de Gaulle are these: The force he is building even when com~ pleted by 1970 will by no means be Ambassador College Photo De Gaulle, with glasses, at review of military parade on New Caledonia.
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