Evening star., 1950-10-19
Nations Seen MOVING
In Practical Way 10
Collective Security
New U. N. Plan Provides
Way to Get Around
Oft-Used Soviet Veto
By David Lascrence

By David Lascrence
Slowly but surely the nations
of the world are moving toward
collective security in a practical
sense. What the League of Ma
tions failed to do, the United
Nations is now doing. The latest
action of the main political COM
mittee of the U. NJ, which provides
a plan for instant summoning of
international forces the moment a
breach of the peace occurs, is a
dramatic way to get around the
oft-used veto of the Soviet gov
ernment.
The Security Council is not ig-
nored. It still retains its powers
to enforce peace, but no one ma
ton can block action by a veto
there. because now a majority of
the so members in the Assembly
also can invoke military operations
If this becomes necessary.
The plan, originally sponsored
by the United States under the
leadership of Secretary of State
Acheson, has now won the support
of a majority of the nations. 1t
means that, in effect, a world
alliance has been formed. Russia
can be a member of it and per-
form the same as any other ma
ton if she desires.
Ne Member Coerced.
The significance of the new
policy is that no member nation
is coerced to take military action.
Any member can refrain and re-
main neutral. But the chances
are that the smaller nations,
knowing that they may some day
be victims Of aggression by more
powerful countries, will not wish
to abstain for fear that they will
get little support when crisis
affecting them arises.
Likewise, the larger powers will
feel obligated to take part in any
international police operations be-
cause they have even more at
stake than the smaller nations.
The new program means that,
If another big war comes, it will
not be declared by one country but
will be the formal resolution of
the United Nations itself. This is
q ram @ vi q hIo q oIuovoa ~, ;v%or,o
tional affairs, for it takes out of
the hands of any one nation the
power alone to initiate defense
against another nation. In nearly
every war of defense, the aggres-
sor claims that the military opera
tion taken was also in self defense.
But with the United Nations to
pronounce formally who is the
aggressor, the peoples of the world
will not be misled by the false
propaganda of an aggressor ma
tion which has threatened the
peace or broken it.
The one ambiguity that arises
is what the U. N. will do in the
event that it knows the aggres-
sor may at any moment strike the
f1rst blow. In this era of atomic
energy. the fear is that no warn
ing will be given by an aggressor
state and that considerable de-
struction will be wrought before
there Is a chance to call a meet
ing Of the U. N. and order re-
taliatory action.
Matter for q. N. Action.
This raises. on the other hand.
the possibility that. in a tense
situation, the q. N. itself may
order a wouldbe aggressor to de-
mobilize an army or to discon-
tinue aid to smaller nations with
In the control of the aggressor
under penalty of military action.
The usual concept of preven-
tive war, for instance, is that an
aggressor would be attacked with
out warning just as an aggressor
state has attacked in the past.
But there has been discussion of
an entirely different set of cir
cumstanceS, in which certain ag-
gresslve actions will already have
occurred and which indicate fur
ther aggression unless halted at
once. An ultimatum is CUSTOM
ar1ly issued under such circum-
stances to prevent the aggressor
from attacking. If similar de-
velopments occurred in the fu-
ture, 1t is likely that the matter
OF a united retaliation would be
a o. N. action and not the action
OF any one country.
For the United States, which
never desires to engage in preven-
tive war and never would be likely
to play the role of aggressor at
any time, the U. N. could become
protector and provide a means
whereby collective defense would
be brought into immediate play.
Thus, with an international army,
navy and air force in being, the
U. MS committee on military
action could function within a
lew hours notice if the U. N.
decided that military sanctions
had to be imposed on any coun-
try which had begun an invasion
or sent its forces into neighbor-
ing country to provoke a war.
1t will be some time before the
full implications Of the policy
which is in the course Of adop-
ton by the U. N. this autumn
will be fully grasped throughout
the world, but when the policy is
fully understood, it should go a
1nY90 o..l