But that does not mean that there may not be setbacks and reversals along the way. So our relationship with the Soviet Union is bound to preserve for the foreseeable future a dual character. But the Soviet Union will take a long time to find a new, stable shape and its immense strategic mass will need to be balanced. In the meantime, the residual security risk from Soviet military power will keep alive the need for insurance and a certain vigilance. Finally we are now more aware of the importance of challenges from outside our Alliance's territory.
Risks can arise from new and unexpected quarters.
Moreover, the trend toward disarmament and reduced military spending in the industrialized world magnifies the significance of Third World arsenals that also now include ballistic missiles and technologies of mass destruction, and gives smaller states a new, undesirable leverage. So we in the West cannot renounce a coherent defence. Along the southern perimeter of Europe there is to some extent an arc of tension from the Maghreb to the Middle East. Tensions are exacerbated not only by the ambitions of dictators like Saddam Hussein, but also by population growth, resource conflicts, migration, underdevelopment, religious fundamentalism and terrorism. Turkey is directly threatened, and our Southern Region is an area where the collective interests of all Allies are engaged.