Evening star., 1948-07-08
Reorminq West Europe

The Inauguration of conversations be-
tween our State Department and top-level
diplomatic representatives of the nations
forming the Western European Union is,
in itself, an important event. It signifies
our Governments implementation of the
Vandenberg Resolution recently passed by
the Senate, authorizing the association"
of the United States with regional defense
pactS. The association of Canada with the
conversations is another noteworthy
factor
The field to be explored and charted
obviously embraces both political and
military considerations The overall
objective is strengthening of Western
Europe against possible aggression in
ways not covered by the economic assist
ance already begun under the Marshall
Plan. So far as the political phase is
concerned the effects will be immediate.
The mere holding of these conversations
is notice, alike to the West European
beneficiarieS and to their Communist
opponents that the United States is
backing up it's words with a definite
policy ultimately translatable into con-
crete action and commitments of various
kinds The psychological results should
be both immediate and considerable
Western Europe will be further heart
ened, while the Soviet bloc and its Com
munist partisans everywhere will be put
on notice that we mean what we say.
With the military phase, it is otherwise.
This involves a series of technical problems
not easily or quickly solvable. And 1t is
precisely this military phase that, in the
last analysis, is the vital one.
1t is generally understood by all COM
petent students of the situation that
Western Europe's security against the
threats of Communist aggression implies
military strength; not only the rehabilita-
tion and rearmament of it's own military
forces but likewise the backing of United
States military strength. And the under
standing is equally general that, at the
present moment, neither Western Europe
nor the United States, even in effective
coordination, could halt an all-out attack
by the Soviet bloc, no matter what the
ultimate outcome of the war which would
thereby be begun.
This, in turn, implies parallel rearna-
ment of both Western Europe and the
United States on large scale. But since
the Western European nations are unable
adequately to rearm themselves, the
United States must simultaneously push
it's own rearmament program and provide
Western Europe with great amount OF
war materiel, much as it did under lend
lease during the late war. -> .
Now the weight of evidence tends to
show that, at present, this country does
not possess the balanced equipment needed
for its own military expansion. Our
reserve stocks are not as large as popu
larly supposed nor are they in balance.
Certain surpluses do exist, some of which
could be made available for Western
European rearmament. But these are
offset by shortages that will have to be
remedied for our own needs. The logical
deduction is that we will be faced with
series of choices. Which will be more
important: The speeding up of our own
rearmament on balanced basis or the
rapid plugging of crucial leaks in Western
Europe's defense dixie?
These choices are highly technical and
will involve prolonged consideration by the
experts of both sides. But, in the last
analysis, the alternatives are those we'll
expressed by Hanson Baldwin, military
commentator of The New York Times who
writes: THE United States must soon de-
eide whether it is more advantageous to
this country and the cause of the West to
have a Frenchman carrying United
States rifle on the banks of the Rhine or
to have an American shouldering that
rifle on the banks of the Wabash"
ProvincetoWn boy who rode 60-foot
whale that charged his boat was rescued