Evening star., 1949-12-31
Foreign Policy Of u. 5,
Likened 10 Runninq
Around in Circles
Needs to Sturt New Life,
Get on the Beam and
Stoy There, Says Writer
By Dorothy Thompson

Dy D0TOIHy thompson
The turn of the century"-the
turn of the half century"-we
read into these phrases concepts
of change which are, of course.
mythical. Epochal events do not
take account of arbitrary dates.
Oswald Spengler predicted "the
goth century will be a century of
Caesarism and world wars" but
World War I did not break out in
1900. Politically speaking. the
century" may be Interpreted to
have started in 1917!
So there is nothing beyond
myth to attribute to 1850 more
significance than to 1949. Fifty
years-of marriage, or reign-may
be occasion for jubilee, but not
the life of a century.
Yet myth plays it's role. too.
We make New Years resolutions.
which are decisions. We arrive
at them by reviewing the past,
saying: I shall not go on as have
been doing. shall act differ
emily, in harmony with what my
conscience and intelligence tell
me are good.
So. though January /, even the
turn of the half century. carries
no decision IN itself, decision may
be read into it by the human will.
1t is good time to start a new
life"
The foreign policy of the United
States needs to start a new life
to get on beam and stay there.
A distinguished editor wrote me
an irate letter the other day say
ing. You used to be one of my
favorite columnists. Now, don't
know where you stand. You are
wobbling all over the place"
To which might retort, "if I
write about American foreign
policy. I must either become a
wailing Cassandra, or wobble all
over the place." For the left
hand of our foreign policy does
not know what it's right hand is
doing. and to try to follow it
means to run around in circles.
We have one policy in Europe
(though that is not rounded out)
and another in Asia. In one
place we try to bolster the forces
of law and order; in the other we
aid the forces of revolution and
subversion. And we are not mas
tering events. The events are
mastering us. We are not win
ming the cold war. We are merely
not completely losing it. And
we have no policy which might
conceivably lead to pacification.
or. if it failed, put us in a firm
moral and political position.
The place to start with a policy
is Germany.
Not with a new policy, but with
a policy. We have never had one
at ALL
Germany has been dismembered
of her eastern provinces with our
consent, to satisfy Poland's loss
of her eastern provinces. But we
have never recognized the pres
ent boundaries.
What boundaries would we rec
ognize? -.- ~ ,~ g. /
The German-speaking popula-
tion of these territories have been
deported, to form a conclave of
misery, irredentism, and potential
explosion.
To what places do We advocate
their return?
The government of Eastern
Germany is arming German Com
munist forces. What do we in
tend to do about it?
If these forces start guerrilla
activities, what then will we do?
Is the West German republic a
holding company for an eventual
German government to re-
place it, or does it mean per-
manent partition? If it is not
the latter, what are we actively
working for as a means of re-
uniting the country?
Under what conditions and
what guarantees would we agree
to withdraw from Germany? And.
II we withdrew, what provisions
would We make for German de-
tense?
Now, if you know the answers
to those questions, you know more
than I do. after spending a month
Of intensive study in Germany last !
June. You know more than any
German knows. And I suspect
that you know more than the
State Department knows.
Yet, without an answer to those
questions, we are without policy.
There is no such thing as a West
German policy. West Germany
0ike East Germany is an imagi-
nary figment resulting from arbi- /
trary military action. The Ger
man, people are no more divided |
by the Elbe than the American
people by the Mississippi, nor
could either be kept divided ex-
cept by permanent military force
The Russians have asked them
selves these questions. They know
what they are up to.
I suggest that we ask and an
swer them, to initiate the turn
of the half century.