THE WASHINGTON P OST, THURSDAY, MAR CH 1 0 , T9 8 3
BONNÛÓAmerican diplomacy won less ;than a .sweeping victory with the triumph of Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the.German elections oh Sunday. For the Kohl government, while basically more friendly to Washington, will be . just as: pushy as the Social Democratic opposition in urging the Reagan administration to. compromise with the \ Russians on the Issue of nuclear weapons in Europe. So unless the administration can get off that European hook, there willbe .continuing risk of a falling apart in the Atlantic alliance.</br></br>The Euromissile problem looks, at first blush, like just another item on the arms control agenda. The Russians have targeted some. 250 intermediate-range nuclear weaponsÛÓthe SS20sÛÓ on Western Europe. NATO has replied with a proposal to deploy in Western Europe, by . the end of this year, 572 American Pershing II and cruise missiles capable of hitting Soviet territory.</br></br>In fact, political tensions among the NATO allies figure far more than straight arms control in the Euromissile problem. An American response to the Russian deployment was first urged back in 1977 by Helmut</br></br>Schmidt, the Social Democratic chan -cellor who stepped cfowri last fail. After-SchmidtÛªs prigirial appedl. there swept all ovor'Rf^iii^ :Bu1^	Germa- ny, a wave of antihuclear sentiment. When the; Uriited > States, in 1979,~df-fered to deploy the. new Pershingartd <yruise missiles, thW allies attachedj'.a. condition: Deployment would^thke place only if US:>; negotiations with Russia failed td reach an ^accord limiting	'</br></br>The Russians^had almost ripiriferest in reaching such'an agreement; sirice it would irtvoive scrapping weaporis already in place., it was far easier ifor them to throw out : hints of coniprd-, mise, in the hope of splitting! the Û_ United States and its allies.