War Jitters in Europe The Protracted Conflict

There is a new crop of war jitters in Europe. Such rumors and speculations are always worthy of attention, and the question why there should be a new crop of them is also, as the civil servants say, not without interest.

One should, for a start, distinguish between reports and rumors, on the one hand, and legitimate speculation, on the other. To look at the former first, in June, French intelligence was rumored to know of plans for an invasion of Western Europe. This year’s summer maneuvers by the Warsaw Pact armies were said to be a dress rehearsal for the real thing, to be launched in August 1983.

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Brian Crozier

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There is a new crop of war jitters in Europe. Such rumors and speculations are always worthy of attention, and the question why there should be a new crop of them is also, as the civil servants say, not without interest.

One should, for a start, distinguish between reports and rumors, on the one hand, and legitimate speculation, on the other. To look at the former first, in June, French intelligence was rumored to know of plans for an invasion of Western Europe. This year’s summer maneuvers by the Warsaw Pact armies were said to be a dress rehearsal for the real thing, to be launched in August 1983.