Arms Pact Risky, Rogers Warns as He Leaves NATO Job

Gen. Bernard W. Rogers retired Friday as commander of allied forces in Europe, declaring that he still believes “the risk is high” in a prospective nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Rogers, who turned the command over to Gen. John R. Galvin, had previously criticized U.S.-Soviet proposals to eliminate most intermediate-range nuclear missiles from Europe, but he decline1679848559remark by Secretary of State George P. Shultz that he is “out of touch” and that his warnings on an arms settlement are “ridiculous.”

Rogers had handed over command of U.S. forces in Europe at a ceremony Thursday in Stuttgart, West Germany. On Friday, stepping down as commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, he delivered a farewell speech at NATO military headquarters here.

He defended “my perception of what is occurring,” and he said he is “aware of what’s going on probably more than many people who have not lived here.”

Rogers, 65, who has served for eight years in the NATO post, has argued that medium-range nuclear missiles based in Europe and capable of striking targets in the Soviet Union are necessary under NATO’s defense doctrine of “flexible response.”

‘Political Credibility’ at Stake

He said he accepts the fact that most Western governments are agreed on the elimination of the Pershing 2 and cruise missiles from NATO European countries in exchange for the removal of Soviet SS-20 missiles. And he said he realizes that “political credibility” is at stake in some countries.

“We can’t go back and say we were wrong (about the need for the missiles),” he said.

He warned of what he called the high risk of “sliding down the slippery slope of denuclearization,” and added:

“Arms reduction and arms control offer us the opportunity to enhance alliance security. But we must ensure that in our rush to achieve agreements we do not sacrifice the long-term credibility of our deterrent on the altar of short-term political expediency.”

Denuclearization could lead, Rogers said, to making “Western Europe safe again for conventional war, or more likely, neutralization.”

Possible Gorbachev Ploy

He suggested that Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev might attempt to pressure the NATO allies into making some kind of provocation, but he did not spell out what he thinks this might be. Such pressure, he said, could come in northern Norway, eastern Turkey, or even in a West German city or in Berlin.

The question then, he said, will be whether the Western European governments have the will to stand up to Soviet “blackmail and intimidation.”