Vdth serious questiors being raiw about detente, many in Wadiingwn favoring cuts in cur defense budget, and formidable forces wanting to give up control of the Panama Canal, the Herald believes it’s time for ser-iois appraisal of theentiredefense situation. ‘lhe matter seems even rmre appropriate in the light of continued Communist expansion, including the recenttakeoverof Angola. Britain’s top woman political leader, Margaret ‘lhatrzher, touched upon what should be the West’s concern in a recent speech on defense. 112 socalled detente with Russia, she asserted, is money, and the Soviets are “still bent on world domination.” Noting Arrerica’s disarray in the wake of the Wetnam’War, she said Britain ought to be itsdefenses, not nmningthemdovm. what Mrs. Thatcher said 11-fakes muse, even though her speech angered British Defense Secretary Roy Mason and brought a protest from the Sovietarnbassadorin london. NbsonfearedMrs, Thatcher night be dragging Britain back into the “cold war.” But obviously he is not blind to the signs. In a NATO document published l0 rmnths ago, he, hirrself, warned about the possibility that the USSR viewed its detente policy rrerely as a tactic to lull the West, and accused the Russians of using their nilitary strength to achieve their political objectives withoutrecoursetowar. A glance at the world scene gives credence to Mrs. Thatcher’s charge of “world domination” as a Rusian goal. Since the fall of Khrishchev in October 1964, the Soviet Union has been setting up a string of client states or satellites over much if the world, beginning with Orba ‘ ‘lhe Russians have faced sorre rebuffs – such as in Eygit where President Sadat expelled 18,000 Soviet advisers, and in the Sudan, where a proCommunist coup some years ago was short-lived But a few reverses haven’t lalted them, In India, a Soviet adviser supervised Mrs, Gandhi’s conduct of the Indo Pakistan War. In Vietnam, the North Wetnamese finished conquering South Vietnam last year with forces using 90 per cent modem Soviet amis. In Qirmlia, the Russians have repeated their Cuban experiement, setting up a uurity service under K.G,B, supervision. In Mozambique, as in Angola, the militant Nbrxist guerrrillas got their training in Moscow. These actions – together with Rimia’s lead in nuclear weapors and the dramatic growth of the Soviet Navy certainly should be the subject riwestem concern It’s tirm, as Mrs. Thatcher said. for Britain to become rmre defmse conscious. And that should- apply to other vimterri countries also. Here in the United Statm, instead of weakening our defense posture and attacking our intelligence systems, we should be thinking of strength andsecurityt True, we don’t want any marie Wetnams, but we do med to keep our guard up and rever forget a simple fact of life: That if we’re to function effectively in world diplomacy to keep the peace, we must be abletobargainfromaposition of strength.