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will challenge the Atlantic Alliance to understand
that Russian nationalism, an important vehicle of
domestic cohesion, [must be kept from] spilling over
into pressure on all of Russia's neighbors. Russia
should be given an opportunity to participate fully in
the political constructions of the new millennium
without unleashing its nationalism.

The enlargement of NATO can provide the necessary
security for this task. But there must also be created
a political body embracing the key members of the
Atlantic Alliance plus Russia for the political
construction of the post-Cold War world. The
appropriate forum for this is the European Security
Conference. Charging NATO with both tasks waters down
the Alliance and invites long-term Russian pressure.

The administration - the formative experience of

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many of whose key figures was in the Vietnam period and who consider the Cold War to have been at least partially provoked by the United States - has so far pursued a different course. It has been tempted to turn NATO into a political forum which, to all practical purposes, includes Russia. This would destroy NATO as a safety net and invite constant Russian pressure into the heart of alliance decision-making.

My doubts about attempts to spread democracy around the globe by pressure or persuasion notwithstanding, I do believe in the importance of promoting the democratic ideal by fostering close cooperation where it already exists: especially among the nations bordering the Atlantic and within the Western Hemisphere. Military conflict among these

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nations is nearly inconceivable. It is among the
established democracies that we should cultivate
cooperation and foster the values and institutions we
treasure. The Western Hemisphere Economic Free Trade
Area proposed by President Clinton and its ultimate
merging into an Atlantic Free Trade Area are crucial
steps toward realizing these goals.

[Concluding paragraph to come]