Evening star., 1950-12-30

hope of defending ourselves
against all the rest of the world.
We are not bankrupt in resource
fulness.
Around the rim of the captive
world the free world can create
enough economic and political
vigor, enough military strength
and enough will to resist so that
these areas cannot be cheaply
conquered by subversive methods,
by trumped up civil wars" or even
by satellite attacks.
If the Soviet Union itself decides
on open aggressive war, there Is
only one effective defense, for us
and for others. That is the capa-
city to counterattack. That is the
ultimate deterrent.
When was in the Senate, work.
ing for the ratification of the
North Atlantic pact, I took the
position that it did not commit
the United States to the land de-
fense of any particular area; it did
not commit us to action, but action
of our own choosing rather than
action that an aggressor could die
tate to us.
In Korea, the United Nations
forces suffer the grave handicap
of trying to repel an aggressor
within the limited area he selected
for an attack, at the time he
selected, and with methods of war
which are dictated by the terrain
and the weather he selected.
Our people have Loyalty, sacrifi-
cially and rightly backed this his
toric first attempt at organized
suppression of aggression. We have
done so despite the fact that this
effort involves the inevitable de-
fects of any first endeavor. But we
instinctively feel that there is
something wrong about the meth
ods and do not want to be COM
mitted to a series of Koreas all
around the globe.
That instinct is quite sound.
Against such military power as
the Soviet Union can marshal.
collective security depends on
capacity to counter attack against
the aggressor. Then the force
that protects one protects all, and
there is good chance of de.
terring aggression.
The United States is not with
out power in this respect. We
have our strategic air force. a
stock of weapons, naval power. and
potential strength on the ground.
Much more of all of this needs
now to be brought into being.
Total reliance should not be placed
on any single form of warfare
or any relatively untried type of
weapon. The arsenal of retalia-
tion should include all forms of
counter-attack with maximum
f1exibility, mobility and the pos
sibility of surprise. The places Of
assembly should be chosen, not as
places to defend. but as places
suitable for launching the means
of destroying the forces of ag-
gression. The United Nations, if
it shows that it has the requisite
moral courage, should be given
the right to determine the fact of
aggression so as to insure the
charter goal of armed forces not
being used save in the common
interest.
In such ways the idea of COL
lective security can be given SEN
sible and effective content.
/ We cannot be sure that any,
thing we now do will, in fact, pre-
vent the awful catastrophe of a
Third World War. The final de-
cision will be made in the Krem-
lin. Perhaps it has been made all
ready. That, we cannot know.
We face a period that is bound
to be one of grave anxiety. But
so long as the die has not been
irrevocably cast for war, we must
assume that righteous peace may
yet be possible; and we must work
with all the power that lies with
in us to achieve that peace.
1t is not pleasant, at this holi-
day season, to talk about instru-
ments of death. But events in
Korea have shown that peace is
is not to be found in an unbal-
ance of military power. To COR
rect that balance is a grim ne
cessity. But it is necessity which
also requires that we be vigilant
to preserve and not relax the
moral safeguards with which mill
tary power needs always to be
surrounded.
We can rejoice that the United
Nations forces in Asia and the
North Atlantic forces in Europe
are under the command of two
men, Gen. Macarthur and Gen.
Eisenhower, who have demon
strated. in peace and war, that
they put material values second
and moral values first. That
should be the mood of all people.
1t is not easy to do what has
to be done without whipping up
emotions which are provocative
OF war. Now. if ever, is the time
when our people should preserve
the calm resolve which, in mo-
.ments Of peril. is the hallmark
of true greatness.