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Nations Must Shure Defense

Click to see original imagePresident Reagan’s oa of ” eace stren th” is rd f ult’ view of global tension: butt e burden of increased egg roportionate y li our ami’?-ET This is the idea behind a concurrent resolution introduced in Congress asking the president to call on North Atlantic Treatv hl%W5rE and apan o’ meet or exceed pledges to boost defense outlays Rep. Donald J. Pease. DOhio who offered the resolution. said that while U.S. defense costs are escalating by billions of dollars. some allies are making few or no increases. contrary to a 1977 mutual pledge of NATO members to increase spending in real terms by 3 percent annually. “Several NATO countries did not meet their pledges in 1980.” Pease declared. “The list includes Belgium, Denmark, Italy and West Germany. Furthermore, Denmark is projecting no real growth in defense spending over the next five years and Germany is projecting less than a 1 percent real increase. . . ” Japan. although not a NATO ally. also has proved disappointing in defense commitments. said Pease. “Between 1979 and 1980. Japan decreased its defense expenditures by over a billion dollars.” He quoted Robert Komer. former undersecretary for Department of Defense policy as saying: “The American taxpayer has been paying unconscionably for the defense of Japan. We provide the nuclear umbrella. we provide the high seas capability. were defending their oil.”‘ The concurrent resolution ls timely. Any defense alliance is only as good as the fulfillment by its members of their pledges and international agreements. Americas allies must understand that the United States. as a nation serious about the treaty. expects the same comgmitment from others. The Reagan administration is asking our citizens to do much more for defense; our allies should do much more also.