NATO: The Transatlantic' Bargain

by Harlan Cleveland ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 27, 1970

Harlan Cleveland, United States Ambassador to NATO from September 1965 to June 1969, delivers a persuasive course on the secrets of success that have kept NATO in business as history's strongest and most effective alliance. His remarks are addressed particularly to the doubters who would dismiss NATO as obsolete and Atlantic cooperation against Russia as outdated, in discussing how the Alliance has weathered six significant crises since the mid-1960's-de Gaulle's attempt to extricate France from the NATO defense system, the American-British proposals to withdraw NATOcommitted troops in 1967, the Greek-Turkish eruptions, the ""detente fever"" of the late 1960's, the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and Trudeau's decision in 1969 to eliminate most of the Canadian contribution--Cleveland demonstrates the flexibility of NATO's framework, its remarkable capacity for self-renewal. The complexities of the consultation process are a focal fascination for Cleveland (Golden Rule: ""How would we react if one of our allies behaved as we intend to behave, without consulting us about it?""). Prime space is also accorded the doctrine of deterrence and NATO'S problems with nuclear sharing. From his Cold War, Eurocentric frame of reference, Cleveland sees a long-term future for a Western solidarity organization, and he outlines the prospects and possibilities for NATO in the 1970's. Cleveland's presentation, though thoughtful and instructive, has a certain textbookish idealism and dryness.

Pub Date: May 27, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1970

Categories: NONFICTION