NATO, AT LEAST, KEEPS MEMBER NATIONS TALKING

With considerable fanfare in Paris, Boris Yeltsin signed an agreement that makes Russia part of NATO, the alliance that seeks to maintain a balance of military readiness in an area that has, for the most part, avoided aggression since the end of World War II.

Curiously, Russia was reluctant to join NATO, and its officials continue to thwart efforts to include any other members of the former Soviet bloc.

In spite of this hard-line attitude, Yeltsin offered what much of the world regarded as a major concessions: Russia's missiles, he said, will no longer be aimed at U.S. targets are those in any of the other 14 NATO members.

OK. But doesn't that raise a few questions?

No. 1, haven't we heard President Clinton claim in the last few State of the Union Addresses that we now live in a time when we are no longer targets of Russian missiles? Clinton has proudly taken credit for easing this threat of nuclear holocaust. Now Yeltsin seems to be vying for some of the credit too.

No. 2, what does it mean to say the targets are being changed while the nuclear warheads remain viable? Recent reports suggest "changing the targets" has consisted primarily of removing computer programs that allowed the Russian missiles to be fired. In fact, without those programs, they can't be fired at all.

No. 3, so what would it take to rearm those missiles? About two minutes worth or installing the computer programs, which weren't destroyed and which apparently are readily available for use.

The Russian military, like much of the rest of the country, is in disarray following the breakup of the Soviet Union and efforts to establish a new economy alongside new political and social programs. The reason Russian missiles haven't been aimed at new targets is that the military doesn't have the resources -- or technology -- to write new programs. This means, simply, that the old programs are still usable.

Russia also gained some concessions from NATO in return for its membership. Unlike other NATO members, Russia won't have any NATO nuclear weapons deployed within its borders, and no NATO troops will be stationed there.

The hoopla over Russia's NATO membership should be regarded as a positive step, but it should also be regarded with caution. Russia's NATO membership brings a former enemy into a situation where talk is valued more than fighting. But Russia's continued efforts to influence other areas of the former Soviet sphere deserves to be regarded with both eyes -- and ears -- open.