ABSTRACT
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must maintain a sufficiently robust posture so that Moscow cannot be confident that it can obtain its political objectives through the use of force. If one of the Soviet objectives in Europe is to fragment the alliance politically, NATO’s critics may play into Soviet hands when they openly criticize NATO for not doing enough for itself and threatening to withdraw American forces. Knowledgeable observers will obviously note that US-NATO relations have never been completely harmonious. The defense of Western Europe-particularly the Center Region of NATO against a short-warning Warsaw Pact attack-dominated the Carter Pentagon’s conventional forces development planning from 1976–1980. The United States unilateral guarantee to help West Europeans defend themselves has been one of the most fundamental principles of US national security policy in the post World War II period. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
