ABSTRACT
Although President Ronald Reagan's 1983 announcement of the Strategic Defense Initiative caused initial consternation among the leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies—not least because it came as such a surprise—the project has as yet caused no serious damage to the unity of the alliance. West European leaders and their cabinets can afford to suppress any doubts they may have about the feasibility or the advisability of actual deployment in favor of maintaining NATO solidarity and good relations with Washington. The strategic issue is embedded, however, in a broader context of political concerns and sensitivities. A review of initial European reactions is therefore a useful essential foundation for considering the prospective impact of Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) on relations between the United States and its European allies.
