Evening star., 1949-08-24

VPTeSeIvIng FedCe
Trumon Speech in Miumi
CoIIed Age-OId Doctrine
Of Inevitable War
By David Laurence
President Truman spelled out In
his Miami speech q little more ex-
plicitly than he had before the
reasons why the United States
Government and other govern
ments today consider the United
Nations Organization a futile in
strument to enforce world peace.
While there are words Of praise
for the ideals Of the United Ma
tions and for its principles, the
United Nations has really been
put aside as q means Of preserving
peace in the world. The President
says:
"The principles Of the United
Nations are still our goal. We
have undertaken to defend and
preserve them. We will keep that
pledge.
shortly after the end Of the
war, however. 1t became apparent
that the United Nations could not
live up to all our hopes for 1t until
all nations were united in the
desire for peace. It became nee
essary, therefore. for the free
countries to take action to defend
the principles Of that organization
and preserve It,"
Seems to Confuse Issue.
The President seems to confuse
the issue bit later in his address.
He recites what the United States
did in Greece and Turkey to
"resist Communist pressures" and
says that "our prompt action pre-
served the integrity Of both
countries"
There Is nothing, however. in
the United Nations Charter which
obligates any member to Use or
threaten the use Of physical force
In order to stop the theological
progress Of any nation whether
it be committed to the cause OF
communism or democracy or
fascism. Strictly speaking. the
Fascist governments in Spain and
in Argentina might be held to be
threats to the cause Of democracy
but, presumably because neither
of these nations has allowed its
theology to overflow its own bor-
ders into other countries, there
has not been any condemnation
Of the doctrine practiced.
Soviet Russia has already been
accused Of aggression by President
Truman. But, here again, there
has been no complete function
ing Of the machinery Of the United
Nations which permits an inves-
tigation into aggression and q
formal decision by the United
Nations Council or assembly or
both that aggression has been
committed.
If it were possible" says the
President, I'VE would prefer that
these bulwarks against aggression
be established by the United
Nations. We hope the peace OF
the world will some day be en-
forced by security forces under
the control and direction Of the
United Nations.
I'VE have been working for that.
But the Soviet Union has blocked
every effort to establish an ehec-
tive international police force and
to free the world from the fear
Of aggression. For that reason,
we have had to join other friendly
nations In forming regional de-
tense pacts.'
1t 50 happens that Soviet Russia
Joined with other nations IN
regional pacts and signed non
aggression treaties with France
and with Britain long before the
North Atlantic Pact was signed.
but no military assistance was
arranged for in either case. The
pacts were merely pledges Of mu-
tual defense and were also sup
posed to be within the letter as
well as the spirit Of the United
Nations Charter, which permits
collective pacts and regional
agreements for defense within its
membership.
Assumes War Inevitable.
What President Truman has
said is that the United States and
other nations now have given up
hope Of forming an international
police force through the United
Nations. This is but another way
of saying that the United Nations
has become just a forum for
periodic discussion. AS an inter-
national force in the world, its
principal members have put the
organization aside as unworkable.
This attitude toward the United
Nations scarcely four years after
it was born Is the direct con-
sequence Of the inability Of the
major powers to settle the after
math of European and Far Eastern
problems growing out of the war.
Because clumsy and inept diplo-
macy has failed. the United States
has adopted the military concept
that peace can be preserved now
only by building huge ornaments
or by aiding other nations allied
with the United States to build
up their armaments.
I'VE are not arming ourselves
and our friends to start a fight
with anybody" says the President.
1--WE are building defenses so that
we won't have to fight"
This Is the age-old doctrine of
military policy, which assumes
inevitable war or that an opposing