Evening star., 1948-05-30

If at the end of the war the Soviet
leaders had made even a slight
gesture of cooperation they could
have obtained many billions of dol
lars worth of technical equipment
for the restoration Of Russia's devas-
tated areas, for economic rehabili-
tation and for the creation of new
industries.
Because of Russia's expressed
fears of another aggression from
the utterly defeated Germany, the
western Allies abandoned their
early war aims and handed over to
Russia vast territories which before
1899 were free and sovereign states.
The Soviet Union established its
boundaries on the Gulf of Bothnia,
the Adriatic and the Elbe, enslaving
some 160,00O,0o0 persons.
If the Russian dictators chose to
bide their time and refrain from
heavy pressure methods they could
establish their domination over the
world in less than 10 years.
What Might Have Been
If the Russian dictators had been
less in a hurry they could have
established their world order by
pretending to play at international
corporation. Instead of adopting
an arrogant and provocative atti-
tude in their international dealings
they could have made some small
and Insignificant concessions.
The peace-hungry western nations
would have tolerated almost any
thing in the hope that eventually
the Kremlin might see things in
a different light. A less aggressive
and less domineering Soviet policy
would have permitted Communist
regimes to rise in Italy. France and
probably Britain. These would have
been accepted elsewhere In the
world as the true expressions of the
peoples themselves.
In the United States infiltration
of the Communists and their SYM
pathizers would have continued on
an even larger scale than during
the war. ANY denunciation of Mos
COW and its plans for world DOM
nation would have been stif1ed as
"a hangover of Naziism and as an
interference with peace.
Loyalty to the spirit of the United
Nations instead of brutal vetoes
would have persuaded us either to
share our atomic stockpile with the
U. S. s. r. or to destroy it COM
pletely for the sake of lasting peace.
In order to lessen the taxpayers
burden and to assist recovery in
Russia and the rest of Europe, the
Navy might have been reduced to
nothing more than light craft, the
Air Force and to a few hundred
planes and the ground forces to
what they were in 1930-i.e., about
$4,000 men.
Explanation of Policy
All this could have been accom-
plished if the Soviet Union had
done nothing more than pretend
to cooperate with the rest of the
world. But the Kyemlin dictators
did not want this. They apparently
were convinced that their aims
could be accomplished only by fur
ther destruction of the fabric of
western civilization. This, in their
opinion. required the creation Of
chaos throughout the world.
The Politburo was fully aware
that Hitler could have had most of
Europe after Munich without firing
a shot If he had not tried to move
so rapidly. But the Axis expansion
ist aims outside of continental
Europe eventually would have been
blocked by the United States and
Britain. Hence, the Soviet leaders
decided that the last barrier to its
domination of the world must be
eliminated by force.
This is the only plausible explana-
ton of the Kremlin's policies since
the fall of 1945 and of the Kremlin's
preference for the aggressive rather
than the conciliatory method in its
campaign to win over Western Eu-
rope and Northern China.
| All these historical facts, which
enter into any true evaluation of
the recent Soviet peace" gestures.
are easily forgotten by the masses.
which are concerned only with their
daily occupations and regard the
possibility Of another armed clash
as disaster which should be
avoided by all means.
No Drastic Change of Heart
This explains why the so-called
peace" approaches by Moscow to
the western peoples-who frequently
have been so gullible in the past
have made a psychological dent in
the western world. The history OF
our relations with the U. s. S. r. up
until three weeks ago shows the
Kremlin to be adamant in its claims
and boisterously offensive in its in
tercourse with the western powers.
Nothing has happened recently to
justify the belief in some sections Of
the public that there has been
drastic change Of heart among those
leaders who want to impress their
domination and the Asiatic "neo-
democracy" on the rest of the world.
The consensus of our observers is
that the recent Russian moves were
intended only to create confusion.
particularly in this country on the
eve Of an important election. In this
attempt Moscow has been assisted
unwittingly by some of our own
policy-framers.
The Kremlin once more has the
initiative, having scored heavily
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