The World: The Soviet Threat to NATO's Northern Flank

ON the bleak coast of the Barents Sea, where the Soviet Union shares a common border with Norway near the roof of the world, the Norwegian defense force of 400 men is frequently witness to a disturbing scene. They watch on radar as the Soviets practice assaults on the coast of their Kola Peninsula, some 300 miles away. In the Soviet war games, the attacking force is always victorious and the defenders are always defeated.

That spectacle points up a growing Soviet threat to the northern flank of NATO, which extends from Norway's North...