Evening star., 1949-02-06

y alliance between states which are
. BY necessity it is q defensive or
likely to hasten the consolidation OF
Europe.
The keystone of the edifice is, OF
course, America. No defense bloc is
possible without our active support
The Marshall Plan has helped the
Western European nations toward
limited economic recovery. But 1t
has become obvious that so long as
the Soviet Union continues its pres
ent aggressive policy there can be nc
real economic and social recovery.
Industries Need Tools
In order to meet this growing
menace to the security of those
countries strong defense organiza-
; ton is necessary. Neither Britain,
France nor italy has the means to
produce the heavy equipment re-
quired in modern war. The Marshall
Plan has not yet provided the in
dllstries of those countries with the
tools necessary for manufacturing
tanks, artillery and guided missiles.
Nor is it likely that Western Europe S
industrial plants will be provided
with tools by us as long as there is
danger of Russian blitz.
The American joint chiefs Of
staff, as well as the National Sc
curity Council, still believes that a
Russian military aggression in Eu-
rope is possible, although not i'm
minent, and there is no telling
when it will occur. Under these
circumstances they frown on the
idea of supplying Western Euro
pean nations with equipment which
could be taken over easily by the
Reds.
AS soon as those countries show
their ability to organize an effec-
tive defense force, backed by better
morale among the people them
selves, there will be no further OBJ
lection to equlpping European in
dustrles with tools for defense pro-
duction.
This reluctance on the part of
our policy-makers to provide indus
trial tools probably has been as
much responsible for the organiza-
ton of North Atlantic military bloc
as has the Red menace itself.
Differences on Defense
The American Government has
signified clearly its intention to
provide Western Europe with war
materials for the organization of
adequate ground forces. The naval
and air defense of the continent
will become the responsibility OF the
United States and Great Britain.
Some differences between the
United States and the continental
powers are to be expected. The
French, for instance, want an over
whelming percentage of the mill
tary equipment to go to them and
show a good deal of impatience
when the Italians put in their own
bids in Washington. The Italians,
the French Army men say, proved
themselves poor soldiers in both
World Wars.
The Italians, who still feel deeply
their defeat in World War II, argue
quietly that the French themselves
we're not so remarkable when Hitler
defeated them in a few weeks. They
contend that the Italian divisions
acquitted themselves creditably
against the British in North Africa
; These questions of national pride
can and will be ironed out when the
military representatives of the
North Atlantic bloc get together.
The tact and wisdom of our rep
resentatives is expected to Offset
this inevitable pickering. We have
the things they need and they want
them desperately. Thus, when the
ground forces which must stand
against q Soviet onslaught are Or
ganized, a fair division of Amer
ican war material is certain. And
the fact that single command
will be in existence, containing the
best military minds of all the par
ticipating powers, will help to erase
smoldering rivalries.
Fear Argues for Change
While these are important de-
tails, the vital fact is that this is the
first real step toward the creation
Of the much-needed United States
Of Europe, in which we hope that
frontiers will finally come to mean
as little as they do in this country.
1t is possible that the peoples Of
Western Europe are not yet psy-
chologicaly prepared for such a
drastic step. But the fear Of to-
morrow-the fear of Red invasion,
which is omnipresent in the minds
Of all Europeans-may make such a
historic change easier than ever be-
fore.
AS far as we are concerned it will
be a far better guarantee Of peace
than any such heterogeneous asso-
citation as the League Of Nations and
the present United Nations. In
fact, according to unbiased observ-
ers, the North Atlantic pact is the
only real hope, under present con-
ditions, for the United Nations to
survive, because it is based on stark
realities and is composed Of coun-
frioc which hovo tho eov,oo raoI3~tS,