Evening star., 1949-09-04
Teeth for the Pact


date In the evolution of the free Western
worlds program of common defense
against the threat of direct and indirect
Soviet aggression. For on that day, as
announced by the State Department, the
foreign ministers of the twelve nations
subscribing to the North atlantic Treaty
will meet here to hammer out decisions
designed to put the pact's machinery into
effective operation.
The first business of this all-important
gathering-as set forth in Article of the
treaty.will be to establish twelve-nation
council so organized as to be able to meet
promptly at any time" Once established,
the council will then create whatever sub
sidiary bodies 1t deems to be necessary,
particularly "a defense committee which
shall recommend measures for the imple-
mentation of Articles and s."
AS far as Article is concerned, the
defense committee-which will be an all
military group, probably headed by an
American-will have the responsibility OF
making recommendations as to the extent,
nature and timing of the continuous and
effective self-help and mutual aid" with
which the treaty's signatories have pledged
themselves to maintain and develop their
individual and collective capacity to resist
armed attack" AS for Article 5, the COM
mittee's task will be to undertake long
/ term strategical and other planning for
Joint action in the event of such an attack
on any member, which would be considered
| an attack on all.
Since the groundwork for this machinery
has already been laid by the so-called
Western Union made up of Britain, France,
Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg,
and since many related problems have
been ironed out in connection with the
negotiation of the Atlantic Pact, the twelve
foreign ministers, when they meet on Sep
tember II, are likely to have no difficulty
establishing the council Nor should the
council, for its own part, run into any
serious trouble in setting up the defense
committee Accordingly, there is good
reason to believe that the treaty will be
operating concretely in the relatively near
future.
In other words, with the September II
meeting, the Atlantic Pact will start being
something more than mere declaration
of high resolve and intent. It will become,
in effect, an operating alliance-potentially
the mightiest of it's kind in the history OF
the world. Under it, If they organize
properly and work out genuinely efficient
SYSTEM of continuous and effective self
help and mutual aid" the twelve sigma
tories will be so strong in combination
as, to enjoy an overwhelmingly favorable
position in the world balance Of political,
economic and military power-a fact Ger
tain to give pause to any aggressor, how
ever daring or ambitious.
But that fact iss dependent on, two as
sumptions-f first, that the projected twelve
| nation council and its defense committee
| will really do an effective job in imple-
menting Articles and S, and second, that
there will be adequate ornaments to back
up the pact's defensive commitments.
| Otherwise, the treaty, in and of itself, can
scarcely be formidable enough to deter
aggression. Sufficient military equipment
and a strong organization for strategical
planning and for the wise use Of that
equipment are indispensable essential
teeth, without which the whole project
would lack true force.
There can be little doubt that the pact
| machinery can be made to work well But
what is sorely needed, In addition, Is arms
aid from the United States to give strong
start to the alliance. As matters stand,
Congress has been anything but reassuring
on this score. Thus, the House has halved
the Military Assistance Program advocated
by the President and unanimously in
dorsed by our defense leaders, and the
Senate, largely because Of Republican hes
4 itancy is dragging It's feet on the subject
and inclining toward the view that the
kbulk OF our ornaments help Should be