Evening star., 1948-05-30
The Times Demand 1t

he Times Demand 1t
Now that the Foreign Relations Com
mittee has formally submitted report
unanimously recommending it, there is
good chance that the Senate soon Will
adopt the Vandenberg resolution for
American association" with regional de-
,fensive alliances abroad-notably the So
called Western Union recently formed by
Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands
and Luxembourg.
To the extent that it advocates par
ticipation in security pacts outside the
Western Hemisphere, the resolution calls
for a far-reaching new departure in our
traditional foreign policy. But 1t Is de-
parture necessitated by the profound
changes that have taken place in our
age. without it, the world balance OF
power-now tipped in favor OF the Soviet
Union-will tend almost automatically to
operate against us. Without 1t, the free
nations of Europe will remain in danger
of succumbing, one by one, to the expand
ing pressures of Red totalitarianism And
thus the ultimate safety of our own coun-
try will be deeply affected.
If the Vandenberg resolution is adopted,
however, the Senate will place itself on
record as advising the President to pursue
broad policy calculated to deal affirma-
lively with the threat of aggression from
any source. The most important imme-
diate aim of this policy would be to have
the United States encourage and support
directly or indirectly, the development
abroad of regional defensive arrangements
within the framework of the United Ma
tons AS for our backing up such pacts
with lend-lease ornaments and with spe-
cific pledges to take part In collective
action against attack, three conditions
would have to be met: Cd Our participa-
ton would have to be vital to our own
security; (2) the other signatory countries
would have to guarantee continuous and
effective self-help and mutual aid" among
themselves; and (3) our commitments, in
keeping with our constitutional require
ments, would have to be approved by the
Senate.
The purpose of all this, of course, would
be to avert war by making clear beyond
any doubt that all the actual and potential
power of our Nation would be put swiftly
into action against attacks affecting our
own security. In the words of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee "The expert
ence of World War I and World War II
suggests that the best deterrent to aggres-
sion is the certainty that immediate and
effective counter measures will be taken
against those who violate the peace. The
principle of individual and collective self
defense is fundamental to the independ-
ence and integrity of the members of the
United Nations. This is recognized in
Article 81. BY reafflrming now its alle-
glance to this principle the United States
would take an important step in the di-
rection of removing any dangerous uncer-
tainties that might mislead potential
aggressors."
There can be no doubt about the sound
ness of the committees reasoning. If the
policy advocated by the Vandenberg reso-
luton had been in operation prior to 1885,
Hitler probably never would have dared to
march. The same holds true today for the
aggressive Soviet Empire. In our danger
ously upended world, the power of the
West must be organized and combined in
Given that the men of the Kremlin will
see their own strength outweighed or at
least equaled, and the balance Is likely to
persuade them then to avoid new adven-
lures and to start cooperating for a de-
cent peace.
Viewed in this light, the Vandenberg
resolution ought certainly to win resound-
ing Senate support. Once adopted, more
over, it ought to be put to work without
delay, as fully and as effectively as pos
sible. For it is not enough simply to
agree upon the desirability of such meas
ures; they must be implemented as well;
they must be translated into concrete
action. Only in that way can the United
States and the other free nations be safe
in the kind of world we have today.