Evening star., 1948-05-02

implications of such catastrophe
than most civilians. Our brass hats
have leaned backward to assist any
efforts which would avert such a
conflict, and they have come to the
same conclusion as the Army Chief
of Staff only after careful analysis
of Russia's immediate aims.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the
highest planning authority in this
country, is now convinced that the
Kremlin Is determined to use force
in the event its plans for the con-
quest of Western Europe by meth
DDS Of political infiltration fail.
Our activities in the recent Italian
elections and our plans to supply
weapons to the recently created
five-nation Western European al
lance are both indications to the
Politburo that America will stand
by the remaining constitutional
governments in the same manner
as We stood by them when Hitler
tried to bring them under Nazi to-
talitarian control.
A number of influential and WELL
meaning people in this country un-
consciously have Joined hands with
Russia's supporters in deprecating
the new military measures, which
we're recommended by the eXecu-
tive branch Of the Government and
now are being rapidly approved by
Congress.
Anything but Warmonsers
Some Of these people believe that
"hysteria" is being built up in
Washington and that our top lead
ers are on the way to losing their
heads. Others proclaim that the
administration is engaging in an
electoral maneuver by creating the
idea that a new war is in progress
and by using the old slogan. You
can't change horses in midstream. u
Many today are advocating an i'm
mediate meeting between the Chief
Executive and the Russian dictator
to smooth out the problems which
are bringing us to the brink Of
World War III. They all conven-
iently forget that there have been
three such meetings already and in
variably the result has been that our
representatives conceded to the
power-thirsty u Russian dictator
everything he asked.
The proponents of another Tru-
man-Stalin encounter also overlook
the fact that the United Nations was
created to preserve peace by con-
sultation rather than by force. and
that If the Russian government
wanted to abide bY the provisions of
the Charter, no war talk would be
heard anywhere in the world.
Gen. Bradley, Gen. Hoyt Vanden-
berg, Air Forces Chief of Staff, and
Admiral Louis Denfeld, Chief of
Naval Operations, are anything but
warmongers.
Neither are these men politically
minded in the sense that they would
foment war scare for the purpo>e
of aiding the election plans of any
political party.
Conditions Deteriorate
In the spring of 1947 Gen. Eisen-
hover, then Army Chief Of Staff,
emphatically told the Senate Mil
itary Affairs Committee that war
with Russia was unthinkable. He
reiterated this point of view when
he addressed the annual meeting
of the CIO at Atlantic City a few
weeks later.
Only year ago Gen. Eisenhower
Gen. Carl Spaatz, Air Forces
chief, and Admiral Chester Nimitz,
then Chief of Naval Operations
were satisfied with a modest ma
tional defense establishment, which,
if fully complemented would not
give us the necessary strength to
face a Soviet military challenge.
All these men are now retired but
agree with their successors that
conditions have deteriorated to the
point that we need at least several
hundred thousand more men in the
armed services and at least seven
thousand more planes of all types,
not for offensive purposes but
merely for national defense.
1t must be borne in mind that
the additional billions needed to
reconstruct the Air Force, reactivate
some of the aircraft carriers placed
in reserve at the end of the war and
give the Army minimum number
of divisions for national defense by
means of selective service do not
provide for war on foreign soil.
Enough Evidence Already
All those who know Gen. Bradley,
Gen. Vandenberg and Admiral Dem
field realize that nothing but
factual threat to our national safety
could have induced them to sound
the alarm and ask through Secre-
tary of Defense Forrestal for a
rapid increase in our military es-
tablishment.
Although our intelligence services,
which were built to a high degree
OF efficiency during the war, have
been torn down and replaced with
a new overall organization known
as the Central Intelligence Agency,
which is far too young and inexpe-
rienced to fill the role for which it
was created, there is enough evil
dence at the disposal of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff to justify their fears
that Russia might strike any time
in the next three years.
The Kremlin now has the in
ltiative, because it disposes of the
largest land and air forces. 1t may
decide to strike in Germany, either
directly, or indirectly through the
German Army of liberation