ABSTRACT
The development of new military technology has generated considerable debate within the defence community, although it is noticeable that the bulk of the literature focuses on the Central Region of NATO. Consequently, this region is the most thoroughly analysed of all the areas in NATO, and justifiably so in view of the quality and quantity of Warsaw Pact forces stationed in Eastern Europe. Throughout this chapter we use the relatively neutral and unemotional term 'region', avoiding the term 'front', as well as the terms 'flank' and 'periphery' which imply that in some way the Northern and Southern areas are inherently less important than the Central region.
