ABSTRACT
A general, but fragile, consensus has emerged in recent years among the members of NATO that the conventional component of Western military deterrence must be strengthened. This consensus was crystallized by the popular anxiety about NATO’s heavy reliance on nuclear deterrence that reemerged after the allies decided to go forward with the deployment of new nuclear weapons in Europe in the 1980s. But it had also become widely accepted that allied general purpose forces must achieve a more robust capacity to counter developments in Warsaw Pact strategy and conventional military capabilities if NATO is to maintain the integrity of its current defense plans and avoid a situation in which pressures might be overwhelming to use nuclear weapons in the early stages of a conflict in Central Europe. There are quite divergent views, however, among the allies and within member states over the types of conventional force enhancements that should be pursued and the military strategies and tactics they should serve. Moreover, fiscal and manpower constraints in all NATO countries will limit their capacity to maintain current military postures, let alone expand their conventional forces.
