Milford chronicle., 1948-06-04

VI CONSTANT I6dulH6SS IOr Whatever
is to come. However, on occasion,
the fighting arms can be used as an
instrument of high diplomacy as
well. They can implement and ad-
vance, by purely peaceful means,
the policies decided upon in Wash
ihgton in this time of delicate in
ternatiOnal balance.
AS everyone knows, military fig
ures have been called upon to fill
a number of positions of vast i'm
portance, which normally would be
held by civilians. General Smith,
who was EisenhOweF'S brilliant
Chief of Staff, represents us in Mos
COW. General Marshall, the archi-
tect of our war strategy, holds the
most vital and most difficult job
in the nation'next to the Presiden-
cy. General Clay carries the bur-
den of responsibility for us in Ger
many. General Macarthur is prac-
tically all-pOwerful in Japan. Off
GERS of the U. S. Navy have been
entrusted with the complex task
of administering the Pacific Islands
and strengthening the primitive
economies of their peoples, which
in many instances were disrupted
by the last war.
There has been much argument,
pro and con, concerning the wis
dom of giving men, whose sole pri-
or experience has been in the pro-
fessiOn of arms, such appointments
as these. The American tradition
is that the military shall be apart
from and subservient to the civil
authority. Regardless of that, al
most everyone agrees that the SOL
diers and sailors have done excep-
tiOnal work. There are no saber
rattlers among those in the key
spots. And they have all shown
the qualities of mind, character and
decisiO nthat are now necessary.
So much for individuals. How an.
actual military body can be used
to forward our diplomatic policy is
vividly described by Demaree Bess
in recent Saturday Evening Post
article. Called Our Navy in Strip
ed Pants" it tells how our big task
force in the Mediterranean has
turned it into an American lake
and has done it without land bases,
without straining our ties with
other countries, and without get
ting us too deeply involved in the
! internal affairs of Western Europe.
The attitude that governs this
mission was obliquely expressed to
Mr.. Bess by chief petty officer of
long experience. I'm the war, ev-
cry sailor was a fighter" he said.
Nov they tell us we are diplomats,
and it is our business to be friend
ly with foreigners"
This is pretty largely true
though our Mediterranean task
force, like all other naval units, is
always in readiness for trouble.
/ Today, our foreign commitments
are greater and more involved than
ever. We are the leader of a WesS
tern bloc of large and small pow
ers which is being cemented to-
gether in opposition to the Soviet
Unions Eastern bloc. In Mr.. Bess'
accurate phrase, "Our Navy is the
visible symbol of our participation.
This is a ticklish business, but
the Navy seems to be executing it
effectively and with tact. Visits to
foreign ports are always arrang-
ed for we'll in advance. If the local
authorities feel that. a visit would
be impOlitic at any given time, it
is Cancelled and the fleet goes some
where else. Now and then, a gov
ernment will request a visit on
some particular occasion, and the
task force obliges.
American officers are careful to
avoid political discussions when
they gather ashore with their coun-
terparts from Italy, France, Greece
and the other countries. Shop talk
the problems that are common
to every nayy-dOminates. This
makes it possible for people of all
points of view to get along fairly
amicably.
AS Mr.. Bess points out, there are
times when "our Mediterranean
task force is required to show
sterner aspect" A while ago, for
instance, bomber and fighter planes
from the carrier Midway few over
and around the principal cities of
Italy They did this for three sue
cessive days, returning to their
floating base between trips. This
show of American strength was, of
course, of great service to an Ital-
ian government which was trying
to stop the communists
Mr.. Bess sums up our naval pol
icy in the Mediterranean in those
words: first, to show Euro
peans that we do not intend to
desert them while they are COM
paratively helpless; second, to
treat them in the meantime as al
lies, not as dependents. That pol
icy has worked well, and our naval !
commanders see no reason to be- !
lieve that it will not work equally |
we'll in the future"
The nation recently witnessed |
another and somewhat different |
kind of military diplomacy when |
the Russians made their effort to |
drive us out of Berlin without ac-
tually going to war. A weak and |
vacillating American commander |
might have let the Russians sue
ceed; a firebrand might have chos-
en- a course leading to the direct |
consequences. General Clay. as al |
most everyone seems to agree, act
ed flawlessly. He made no threats
but he was completely firm. He
made it clear lin polite lang Iage, |
that we would remain in Berlin
unless we were pushed out by
force. He won.
This cOncent of dinIouoac1y