A Spectator's Notebook T his Friday (November 29) a famously chanting
Italian High Renaissance picture, rarmigianino's 'The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine,' is to be sold at Christie's, having been sent to auction by Lord Normanton. As British art dealers are well aware, this exquisite painting is one which ought to be retained in this country, and it is hoped that a Public British collection will bid for it. However, In the event of a foreigner's buying it and its corning before the Reviewing Committee on !he'Export of Works of Art, it is equally to be noPed that the Chairman, Lord Perth, will not crecommend the payment of any profit for it 'rum the public purse.
Danger in the 'mini-nuc'?
Tile public is being kept very much in the dark about the existence of what military people call the `mini-flue'; even last weekend's colour auPplement survey of modern weapons made no mention of it, though it represents a perilous half-way house between 'conventional' and nuclear warfare. The explosive capacity of present tactical irlear weapons is measured in terms of eusands of tons of TNT — kilotons. The means of delivery are guns, missiles and aircraft. All these systems have inherent 1,1,1_accuracies; and if a specific result is required, innacuracy is taken into account when the size of the yield is chosen. ti‘T, my, this situation is being changed by two 'ennological breakthroughs. The first is the Production of nuclear warheads with an ,etlinvalent TNT effect measured in hundreds of These weapons exist now. The second, is o,.at these `mini-nucs' can be delivered with "ni'at accuracy. What is now exercising the ainritts of NATO planners is the development of Concept for their use. th There are powerful voices which are saying t, because of their size and accuracy the ni-flues' should be regarded as a thicken Up of existing conventional artillery fb.repower. NATO armies will then have, for the St time, an effective indirect anti-tank fire L-aPability. Others insist that a nuclear weapon,
Zhatever its size, is nuclear, and the first use of
„nY such weapon is the first step in nuclear zscalation. The result of this strategic argu Tent will affect every one of us. We should be t,Ware that it is going on. Unfortunately (or t;Lrtunately) the 'mini-nuc' has arrived at a .e When NATO's `conventional' defence iTi4J-tire is ceasing to be credible. Thus, NATO is nger of returning to a de facto immediate elear response strategy, although it may be atv.,gu,ised by the argument that the 'miniis more 'conventional' than nuclear. w 'or the development of these arguments atch this space.
befenCe cuts
Apr,
p„ earently one reason for the delay in the erilment statement on its intended defence so that it isn't made until after the irour Party conference. This leads us to haP„P_Pse that, faced with the facts on the one ptii`u and the realities of responsibility on the ca er, Mr Roy Mason has found it impossible to pv.i,rrY out the cuts which would be necessary to c.ate the Labour left wing. At least in frarliarnent he can rely on a certain support ta9r1 the Opposition when it comes to main'fling Britain's vital defence interests. Having said this, however, we do understand that the RAF 46 Group, which operates the strategic transport aircraft, is for the chop, and that the parachute and commando brigades will also go. If true, this will, of course, mean the end of any real capability for this country to come to the aid of its allies outside Europe. It also means that Chapman Pincher of the Daily Express was right when he said the same thing some weeks ago.
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