Evening star., 1945-10-29
Defensive Power Seen
Breeder Of Skepticism
Observer Says Trust Is Cure for
Heavy Armament DANGER
By David laurence

ODSCfVcI Gays lIuSl Is AuIS IOT
Heavy Armament Danger
BY Dauid Laurence
What President Truman endeavored
to do by his Navy Day speech was to
answer the growing question all over
the world as to why the United States
means to maintain large armaments.
The President gave four reasons: The
enforcement of peace on our defeated
enemies, fulfillnent of our military OBJ
legations as a. member of the United
Nations Organization, cooperation with
other American nations ito preserve the
territorial integrity and the political in
dependence of the nations of the West
ern Hemisphere" and to provide for the
defense of the United States.
Mr.. Truman says our -four military
tasks are directed mot toward war and
not toward conquest-but toward peace,
and that this is the basis of our for
eign policy"
Broad Enough for Decades.
Nobody will express the slightest dis
sent from the Truman thesis, which is
broad enough to cover the foreign poll
icy of this country for decades to come.
But there will be a natural inquiry to
learn why the United States will re-
quire large armaments to do that which
presumably is also the military obliga-
ton of the British Empire Common
wealths, the peoples OF France, Russia
and China, respectively.
As long as Russia maintains a stand
ing army of around 5000, 900 men there
apparently will be enough soldiers avail
able, plus those Of Great Britain, to
take care Of any disturbances in Eu-
rope, with perhaps a token force from
the United States for demonstration
purposes. Certainly a large American
Army isn't necessary to police Europe.
So far as the Far East Is concerned,
1t is doubtful whether defeated Japan.
which no longer possesses a feet or
munitions supply, will be a menace
which either the Chinese or Russian
forces or both could not handle, with
token force from the United States.
Answer In Fourth Reason.
AS for Latin America, the United
States does not need large army be,
cause international forces can be drawh
from the other nations and even our
l940-sized Air Force would be ample
for Central and South American pur-
poses
The real purpose for a large Army
and Navy and Air Force is to be found
IN the fourth reason-the defense Of
the United States against sudden at
tack from some nation not now classed
as a military aggressor but likely to
arise in the next decade. Since neither
Germany nor Japan can give us trouble,
the American people are left to guess
what country is the presently unknown
aggressor.
To ask for the maintenance of large
| Army and Navy and Air Force to ward
off attack by an imaginary aggresso,
will be difficult thesis to Justify with
out more particulars than are available
at present. There Is also the danger
that other nations will do the identity
ing themselves and will begin to take
countermeasures against our prepare
tions.
| Momentum Given Skepticism.
Throughout history, this has alway,
been the danger incurred In building
armaments for vague or abstract pur-
poses. There is only one cure for 1t and
| that is revival of trust. STRANGELY
enough, the President In the same
speech pointed out the great need for
it. He said:
The immediate, the greatest threat
| to us is the threat of disillusionment,
the danger of an insidious skepticism-
loss of faith in the effectiveness of
international cooperation. Such a loss
OF faith would be dangerous at any time.
In an atomic age it would be nothing
short of disastrous"
II Mr.. Truman will reread the
speeches of many of our military and
naval leaders since We day and vi
day, he will find that while they pay
formal homage to the United Nations
Organization, they emphasize most We.
hemently the need for big ornaments K
protect the United States against un.
identified potential enemies. Small
wonder that skepticism has gotten such
momentum. 1t will continue to increas,
as long as demands are being made fol
extraordinary postwar expenditures b
maintain a large military establishment
the exact use of which In an atomi,
age is not yet clear.
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