New York Times

August 7, 1997

[for personal use only]

Letters

NATO Expansion Forces Russia to Reform

To the Editor:

Aleksei Arbatov, deputy chairman of the Russian Parliament's Defense Committee, has an interest in overstating the "folly" of enlarging the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Thomas L. Friedman (column, July 31) should be in no hurry to adopt his arguments.

Russia's wish to "rely more heavily on nuclear deterrence and a doctrine of first use of nuclear weapons" owes almost nothing to NATO enlargement and almost everything to the collapse of its conventional military. Russia officially abandoned its "no first use" policy in 1993, long before NATO gave serious thought to admitting new members.

Whatever the long-term effects of NATO expansion, the short-term effects have been beneficial. As with its failure to subdue Chechnya, Russia's failure to derail NATO's efforts has exposed the gulf between its great-power pretensions and its chronic weaknesses. The emergence of vigorous military reforms in Moscow is the consequence of Russia's reverses and the firmness of others.

NATO's movement east is also leading Russia to improve relations with neighbors, including far-reaching accords with Ukraine. A similar change of approach can be seen in the Baltic region and the Caucasus.

And Mr. Friedman's argument that NATO enlargement will hurt the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is curious. While Russia might wish to rearm, it can't afford to. And although our interest in arms control is great, our greater need is to see Russia at peace with itself and its neighbors. An enlarged NATO can advance that aim.

JAMES SHERR

Union City, N.J., Aug. 1, 1997

The writer is a lecturer in international relations at Oxford University.

No Link to Start 2

To the Editor:

Thomas L. Friedman (column, July 31) gives unwarranted credence to Aleksei Arbatov's claim that enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is linked with Russian ratification of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, asserting that "Mr. Arbatov is a democrat and a strong advocate of U.S.-Russian cooperation and arms control treaties."

Mr. Arbatov is no democrat. Although he claims to be a supporter of improved relations and arms control, he is a mouthpiece for the hard-liners in the Russian Parliament who undermine United States-Russia relations.

Start 2, which would cut levels for long-range nuclear missiles to 2,500 to 3,000 for each side, has been ratified by the United States but not Russia. Recently, to promote cooperation, provide transparency and develop a more stable military relationship with the West, President Boris N. Yeltsin signed the Founding Act, giving Russia a voice in NATO.

There is no logical connection between Start 2, which is in Russia's self-interest, and NATO enlargement, which makes Russia a part-ner of the West. Mr. Arbatov, who does not speak for the Russians, risks having Russia lose out on both.

EDWARD L. ROWNY

Washington, Aug. 6, 1997

The writer was chief negotiator for Start 1.

Clinton Isn't Selling Out

To the Editor:

Thomas L. Friedman (column, July 31) argues that the Clinton Administration is "selling out" United States-Russia relations for expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

To knock President Clinton down, Mr. Friedman constructs a straw-man argument.

No one in the Administration is saying that NATO expansion is going to be an easy sell without substantial costs.

And the President is certainly not saying that either you love my position or you are a card-carrying concessionist.

As for President Clinton's reawakening the slumbering Russian bear: Let's say that he decides to close down the NATO shop tomorrow.

Can Mr. Friedman or his messenger of doom, Aleksei Arbatov, truly maintain that Russia will stop thumping its chest? When in history has a state in prolonged crisis not trumpeted the need for a robust military and firm foreign policy to distract people from empty bread shelves or exorbitant milk prices?

CRISTER S. GARRETT

Monterey, Calif., Aug. 2, 1997

The writer is a professor of European studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

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Johnson's Russia List

#1112

10 August 1997

djohnson@cdi.org