POST-IRON CURTAIN

March 5, 1946. The rhetoric was as stirring as it was, for that time, controversial: "From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an Iron Curtain has descended across the continent. Behind it lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Eastern and Central Europe: Warsaw, Prague, Berlin, Sarajevo, Sofia."

At Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., 50 years ago last week, the tough new reality of what later came to be called the Cold War was declared by Britain's former prime minister, Winston Churchill. That the West found itself opposing a Soviet regime so recently its wartime ally made grappling with the new geopolitical reality all the tougher. Like a prophet of old, the uniquely magnificent Churchill could do no other than to tell the truth as he saw it, regardless of how others might wish reality away. This unforgettable address was therefore of a piece with the entire career of the great British statesman, who spent an entire, lonely decade -- the 1930s -- warning of the rise of fascist dictators and later called the subsequent cataclysm of World War II "the unnecessary war."

Missourians will always take a measure of pride that the Iron Curtain speech was delivered on our soil, upon the invitation of President Harry S Truman, at what he called, in his letter of invitation, "one of our fine small colleges." That this lecture series continues to attract figures of the world status of Lady Margaret Thatcher, the only prime minister of the 20th century whose longevity in office exceeded Churchill's, is cause for still more pride.

The formidable Lady Thatcher, who teamed with Ronald Reagan to give the West its heroic age of conservative leadership through the 1980s, lived up to her rather considerable advance billing as the Iron Lady. Focusing on "a pervasive anxiety about the drift of events," Thatcher observed: "It remains to be seen whether this generation will respond with the imagination and courage of Sir Winston, President Truman and the wise men of those years."

She called for "a new and imaginative Atlantic initiative" whose components would include:

* Offering a better-defined mission in an expanded North Atlantic Treaty Organization to welcome Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic; and

* Creation of a "Trans-Atlantic free trade deal" to usher in a trade bloc of unparalleled wealth and therefore influence in world trade negotiations." This Thatcher envisions as "the economic equivalent of NATO."

Thatcher also devoted a large portion of her speech to stressing the need to develop and deploy advanced missile defense systems to ensure the safety of Western nations. Surveying a world filled with rogue nations possessing nuclear and chemical weapons, she described the mixture as "a highly toxic compound." This is indisputable, as we confront nations such as Iran, Iraq, North Korea and China bidding to become nuclear- and missile-equipped powers. Since Ronald Reagan's departure from the scene, missile defense has hardly been on the table for discussion. It must be. Wise words from a wise and courageous lady.