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Male voice 1: This is Dateline NATO [Theme song playing] Male voice 1: This program is produced for radio in the headquarters of United States Navy Admiral Charles K. Duncan. [Rainelle] Barger: This is [Rainelle] Barger reporting from NATO headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. Is the Tropic of Cancer

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a realistic boundary for NATO's southern limit? The Soviet's military buildup, and the efforts by the Alliance

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to deter this large Soviet power boost, has made this question of boundaries a common topic for NATO's leaders.

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In the original treaty, the Tropic of Cancer was established as the southern boundary, but with growing emphasis on

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resource imports from around the world and the advent of submarines with nuclear capabilities, an enlargement of NATO's territory

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had been considered in recent years. At a press conference during his visit to NATO's Norfolk headquarters, United States Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt,

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was asked to comment on the subject. Attending a conference with the Chief of Naval Operations was Admiral Charles K. Duncan, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic.

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Both admirals had this to say on the subject. Admiral Zumwalt: Well, let me say that, it's very hard for me to forecast, and I'll ask Admiral Duncan who has NATO responsibilities which I do not,

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to comment on this more specifically. It's very hard I think, to forecast how a group of that many nations might come out on any specific issue. It's very obvious to any Navy man

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that the more you can pool allied forces to ensure control of the vital sealines of communication,

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the better off you are. And it's very obvious with Europe dependent today for 45% of it's fuel on the Persian Gulf and would

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depend, be dependent for 90% of its fuel and we're left, by the early eighties, dependent for 50% of ours, [four fifths], from the Persian Gulf that the South Atlantic is a very critical area.

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Now for that much in general, I'll ask Admiral Duncan what he would add. Admiral Duncan: Well, I think I would only add that the treaty boundary, itself is all bound up into the meaning of

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the treaty and commits all the nations to take action if any of the countries or ships within this treaty boundary are attacked,

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therefore, I would think it rather unlikely that they would open up the actual treaty boundaries.

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And what I had been pressing for, and I hope that I will succeed in, is following up on Admiral Zumwalt's remarks, impressing on

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them that NATO interests vital interests lie outside the NATO treaty area as defined in the original treaty.

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Someone must worry about functions. He mentioned the amount of oil. You hear different figures, but I believe that currently

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about 50% of Europe's oil comes around the Persian Gulf and if they close off the North African oil even more will come

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around the Cape of Good Hope. Also, the treaty boundaries were laid down in a day before the nuclear submarine

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or the ballistic missile even existed and NATO then, in a sense you could say the, a conflict might be

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contained within certain areas. Well the boundaries at sea as you mentioned, mean nothing to a Navy and nor in the air, of course to an aircraft. And it is true that I have been very interested,

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and I have spoken at every opportunity of NATO recognizing its responsibilities outside of its area and placing

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those responsibilities on someone and facing up, you know, to the plans part. To repeat myself, I would not take a guess or not speculate that the basic treaty

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would be reopened because this just brings on a great many complicated questions. [Theme music playing] Male voice: Dateline NATO is written and produced by the Radio and

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Television Section of the Public Information Office of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, with headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.

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Male voice 2: In Boston, Massachusetts, Dateline NATO is heard over radio WEEI, one of 500 military, commercial, and public broadcast members of the Dateline NATO family in 29 countries worldwide. [Theme music plays and ends]