Evening star., 1950-07-05
A Time to Be Wide-Awoke

In erect, IN the statement issued by Deputy
Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, the men of
the Notwithstanding once again, with typical
brazenness to the technique of the monumental
ne-haye now called upon the Security Council
of the United Nations to itself and sanctify
the criminal war of aggression being waged by
their Northern Korean puppets.
Thus, grossly libeling the United States as
"the enemy of peace" the Gromyko statement
demands that the Council forthwith rescind its
historic decisions OF June rs and ~ and order
our American armed forces to end all interven-
ton and Immediately withdraw from Southern
Korea. In addition, in sort of double -barreled
propaganda barrage, the Kremlin's Korean
stooges using particularly violent language, have
simultaneously forwarded similar demand to
Secretary General Trygye Lie
The Soviet position is based on two main
contentious, one shot through with absolute
falsehood and the other amounting to a crude
legal fiction. The first of them is that the
Southern Koreans, instead of being the victims
OF aggression, are guilty of having started the
war-at the instigation of American "imperial-
ists"-by launching an attack against the north
And the second is that the Security Council
because it moved without the assent OF non
member Communist China and in spite of the
Russian boycott acted unlawfully "a on June
Is when 1t ordered Red Korea to cease fire and
withdraw its forces to the 38th parallel, and
Cd on June ~ when it appealed to all members
of the United Nations to cooperate militarily
in the effort to repel the invaders.
As far as the law is concerned Of course,
the u N. Charter makes 1t abundantly clear
that the Kremlin does not have leg to stand
on in arguing that the Council had no right to
take the action 1t has taken. As for the lie that
the Southern Koreans started the war, it is too
AIrma Her 1t<x,4~, A.
world, its sole apparent purpose being to hood
wink the peoples behind the Iron Curtain The
real truth Of the situation-the fact that Soviet
directed Red Korea is the aggressor-is plain
beyond the slightest question. That is why the
overwhelming majority Of the United Nations
practically all but the small Communist bloc
are offering full moral and material support to
our American effort to effectuate the Councils
orders Further, that is why the Council itself
will certainly make short shrift OF the insolent
and mendacious Gromyko statement.
Since the men of the Kremlin undoubtedly
are well aware of all this, since they must know
that their demands will be rejected, the big
question Of the moment has to do with just
why they have taken their present line The
lying, the fuming the intensified vilification of
the United States-is all that meant to be
propaganda merely for propaganda's sake? Or
does it foreshadow concrete action Of some sort?
Is it an theological offensive designed to prepare
the iIl-informed masses behind the Iron Curtain
for full-scale Soviet Intervention in Korea or
for even deadlier Russian moves elsewhere
perhaps against Iran, or Western Europe or
even America itself? In sum, is it sound and
fury signifying nothing or is 1t the prelude,
possibly, to events that could unleash a new
world war?
The answers can be only guesses right now.
But 1t is worth noting that within the past
couple OF days systematic effort has been
going on in the Soviet Union and its satellite
empire to organize spontaneous" workers
demonstrations aimed at whipping up hatred
against the United States and inflaming senti-
ment in favor of some kind of action to end
American aggression" The thing has q pur-
pose. Although that purpose may be limited to
waging on-shooting war of nerves, the free
world had better be on guard everywhere-in
Asia, in the Middle East, In western Europe,
and right here at home. Grim surprises may
be in the making. This is no time for Sleep
walking.