Evening star., 1949-12-22
Why We Helped Russiu

Why We Helped Russia
In the most recent of his articles In The
Star General Arnold, chief OF the Army
Air Forces during the war, has expressed
timely puzzlement over the way IN which
some American commentators have been
exposing" and criticizing the fact that the
United States shipped great quantities OF
military equipment to strengthen the Rus
slams In their titanic struggle with Nazi
Germany. .......
OF course, second -guessers and hindsight
global strategists can sit comfortably IN
their armchairs and expertly explain just
how all of us would be lot better of right
now If the Western Allies had not lifted
finger to help the soviets against Hitler's
invading legions Conceivably-although
It can never be proven one way or the other
that after -the-event view may be theo-
retically sound. The big thing wrong with
it, however, the thing that makes it some
what silly, is that when the Nazis were on
the march to conquer the world, the
threatened nations Of the West-includ-
ing our own-had to deal not with longe-
range |ny" theories but with hard and
urgent conditions that made them des-
perately anxious to keep Russia In the
fight on their side.
Thus, in allying themselves with the
Soviet Union after Hitler's invasion, Brit
ain, the United States and the other ma
tions at war with the Axis, had in mind
such overriding considerations as the
following: % That the great bulk of Nazi
land power was concentrated on the Rus
sian front; 60 that nothing could be more
important than to do everything possible
to prevent Red Army collapse that would
result in separate Moscow-Berlin peace;
60 that should that kind of disaster take
place, then totalitarian Germany, in con-
cert with Italy and Japan, and backed by
the tremendous resources of most OF Eur
asia would be able to turn with full fury
on the West; and a. that in that case (at
the time, Of course, we were not anywhere
near having the atomic bomb we and our
encircled Allies would be faced with
terribly long struggle that could end in our
total defeat after the expenditure of vast
quantities of blood and treasure.
J In other words, the decision to 60 all-out
In supporting the Soviet Union was made
on the basis of what clearly seemed to be
our own best interests. It was made, as
General Arnold has just written, during a
period of serious allied crisis, when Ger
many was overrunning all of the European
continent; when the undeniably valiant
Red Army was dangerously hard-pressed
while pinning down many Nazi divisions
that might otherwise be thrown against
Allied troops landing in Africa or in West
ern Europe" when Russia was our friend;
when It was helping us to win the war by
"killing more Germans than the British
and Americans combined" and when the
overwhelming majority Of people in the
United States demanded that it be aided
lest it fall. That aid, moreover, undoubtedly
was well used, for it played key role-as
Stain himself has testified-in bringing
about the downfall of Hitler's ruthless
Third Reich.
As General Arnold has said, all this ought
to be recalled and kept in mind whenever
anybody tries to represent our aid to the
Soviet Union as sort of crime. Actually,
though possibly it may have gone too far
in few respects, 1t helped to insure victory
for us as well as for the Russians. If some
people argue that that victory has turned
to ashes in our mouths and that our erst-
while friends now menace us, it may also
be argued that had we let them collapse,
we would have been inviting far greater
menace In the form of much more effici-
ent German war machine in total control
Of a Nazided Europe stretching from Britain
to the Urals.
Our atomic bomb2 Who knew back in
~
ducing our first one in July of 1945? Great
and fateful decisions are not based on
mere wishes or remote possibilities. When
our high command made up its mind to
help Russia, nobody had any idea that
A-weapons would surely be available to
deal with Hitler in case he crushed the Red
Army and took over the whole of Europe.
porhorc NHoru TorIoo couc N6r