Evening star., 1946-03-10
Russia Held Luckino
Incentives for War
u. S. S. R. Believed Exploiting
Weakness of Democracies
BIZ John H. Cline.

| denberg was speaking for most of the
| American people when he said that
the question in all our minds is: What
is Russia up to now?"
Manifestly, it is question which
cannot be answered with certainty by
any one except the handful of men
who make the policy decisions in Mos
COW. 1t is possible, of course, to draw
conclusions from some of the things
the Russians are doing. When they
keep troops in Iran in violation of
| their treaty obligations, it can be as
sumed that they intend to bring that
country permanently within the sphere
| of Soviet influence. There is reason
| to believe that their objective In Man.
| churia is similar if not the same And
| in many other regions-the Dardanelles,
in Turkey, in the Balkans, in Korea,
in Tripolitania, and. in fact, where
ever Communist influence can pene-
| trate there Is more or less reason to
be suspicious of Soviet intentions. But
the fact remains that, however suspi-
cious we may be, there is no one out
side Russia, in the words of Winston
Churchill. who "kno,Ds what Soviet Rus
sia and its Communist International
organization intends to do in the inn
mediate future, or what are the limits
if any to their expansive and prose-
lytizing tendencies"
Mr.. Churchill made another state
ment, however, which, If correct, un-
doubtedly furnishes the most depend
able guide to Russian intentions II
do not believe" he said, that Soviet
Russia desires war; What they desire
is the fruits of war and the indefinite
expansion of their power and doctrines"
This is an opinion which seems to
be supported by the logic of the situ-
alton. 1t is we'll to remember, in the
first place, that the world now is going
through settling down process which
has followed every great war. If any
thing, the outlook six months after
World War I was gloomier than it is
today. The analogy is one which can
not be taken too literally, for the
emergence of tremendously strong
Russia, coupled with the decline of
nations which were considered to be
OF the front rank quarter century ago,
has materially and fundamentally
altered the power structure of the
world. Nevertheless, it is fact that,
six months after the end of the First
World War, there was more conflict in
more places than there is today Then,
as probably is to some extent the case
now, the nations were maneuvering
for position in a world whose face
had been altered by long and costly
war
Another reason for doubling that the
Soviet Union wants war lies in the fact
that Russia is not faced with the eco
nomic necessities which often have led
to war in the past. Hitler solved an
unemployment problem by building a
vast war machine, but there is no unem-
ploynent in Russia. The U. S. S. r. does
not need to find living room for its
people, for it already has tremendous
areas which are almost wholly undevel-
oped. 1t has most if not all of the raw
materials that it needs for future devel-
opment, and in many respects 1t has
hardly more than scratched the surface
of its own natural resources. In short,
for many, many years to come the
Russians can occupy themselves in re-
pairing their war damage and building
the expanding national economy for
which Premier Stain has called with
fo 5aI
reason to despoil some other country.
Another factor supporting the logic of
the belief that the Soviets do not want
another war concerns the extent to
which they have suffered in the struggle
Just ended. Stain was not exaggerat-
ing when he said last month that
World War II was "the most cruel and
hard of all wars ever experienced in the
history of our motherland" The Rus
sion people are war weary, as are all the
other peoples of the world. And we
may be certain that what they want is
not more war, but more food and more
clothing and more homes.
But if these things can be taken to
be true, how is one to explain a course
Of conduct on the part Of the Russians
which raises the fear that they are bent
upon world domination, and which
prompts statesman of the experience
and foresight of Winston Churchill to
call for what would amount to a mill
tary alliance between the United States
and Britain to check the rising Russian
imperialism? If one may Judge from
the shrill outcries of the American
Communist paper, the Daily Worker,
which has published a formal appeal
from the secretariat of the American
Communist party to the workers of this
country to unite in protest against the
suggested alliance, the Russians do not
want to see the military power of Brit
ain and the United States joined
against them. Why then, do they pur-
sue policies which, in the last analysis,
should tend to drive the western democ-
racies to make common cause against
them?
At best, the answer can be no more
than guess. But it is good guess
that Mr.. Churchill was right, that the
Russians do not desire war with the
western powers, but that they do desire
the fruits of war and the indefinite
expansion of their power.
y X y
1t can be taken for granted that
the Russians, with an excellent espi-
onage system at their command, have
made careful analysis of conditions
in this country and in Britain. Even
II they only read our newspapers, or
listen to nllr radin hrna dca Sts tha,,