Decision on NATO

Canadians and Americans have traditionally taken each other for granted. If frictions have developed, they have rarely seemed significant. In no area has North American unity seemed more certain than in matters concerning mutual security. Thus last week, on the eve of NATO's 20th anniversary, it came as a shock to most Americans when Canada's Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau announced that Ottawa will "take early steps to bring about a planned and. phased reduction" of the number of Canadian troops on duty in Europe. Though Trudeau did not say so, the new policy contemplates a complete withdrawal of Canadian forces from Europe by 1975. After that, Canada will remain a NATO member but will not station forces permanently abroad.

Though so extensive a pullback was not expected, the fact that Canada was taking an entirely fresh look at the Atlantic alliance was no secret. Trudeau, who tends to govern his country almost as if he were conducting a leisurely seminar, has devoted his first year in office more to tossing problems to task forces for study than to providing any new directions for Canadian policies. None of Trudeau's task-force assignments have provoked livelier discussion at home, or greater misgivings abroad, than his question whether the time had come to bring home the troops.

Exercise of Independence. Trudeau's decision does not mean that he plans a retreat to Fortress Canada. Rather it reflects Canada's uncertainty over how it may contribute to collective security while retaining a capacity for independence in the shadow of the U.S. Trudeau is determined to exercise that independence, though he is well aware of its limitations. "Obviously," he recently remarked, "we couldn't under any circumstances have a foreign policy that was completely contrary to the interests of the United States. I just don't think they would allow it."

By leaving vague the details and intentions of his policy, Trudeau infuriated many Canadians. For the socialist New Democrats, who favor an immediate pullout, Deputy Leader David Lewis denounced the decision as "meaningless, imprecise, nothing short of scandalous." Conservative Leader Robert Stanfield complained that Canada was failing to live up to the defense obligations that it helped shape as a founding member of NATO. The NATO allies are also certain to be disappointed. Canada's six squadrons of CF-104 Starfighters and the 5,000-man armored brigade in West Germany have been a valuable part of the NATO shield. Still, the main blow in the U.S. and Western Europe is psychological; though no one doubts that Canada remains attached to collective security, its departure from Europe may encourage others to weaken their NATO commitments.

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