The Ice Finally Melts : But formal end to Cold War competes for attention with Mideast threat

The end of the Cold War was put in writing Monday at a gathering as momentous as any in civilized history.

But the Paris meeting that formally called off a past dominated by armed confrontation in Europe had to compete for attention with a fitful future. President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, for example, both noted that Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait threatens the peace that the treaty promises.

And while the superpowers declared themselves partners under the treaty, Gorbachev again declined to pledge support for the use of force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

Still, the chief business of what Bush called “a glorious day for Europe” was the signing by the 16 nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the six members of the Warsaw Pact of an agreement that could compete for attention with anything. In the next four years, it will strip Europe of tens of thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, artillery pieces and aircraft. Formal limits on troop levels will be negotiated starting late this week, although the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and its failure in the Soviet Union would leave Europe free of Moscow’s forces by 1994 under any circumstances. Agreements also will be negotiated on aerial inspections to verify that East and West are abiding by troop and arms limits. In sum, the treaty ends the turmoil Europe has known since the 1940s.

That done, another 12 European counties joined the 22 signers of the arms treaty Monday for yet another meeting, this one of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Its discussions will try to avert conflicts not just between nations, but among peoples whose animosities are rooted in centuries-old tribal rancor. It will also try to keep East European politics open and free while the arms-control treaty suppresses the military threat.

The intrusion of the Middle East did not ruin Europe’s celebration. It may even be a useful reminder that, even while hoping for the best, it helps to prepare for the worst.