Evening star., 1950-08-20
Deuel.
Continued From Page CID


It is best qualified to provide
Thus in the air the United States
and Britain would conduct most,
If not all, strategic bombing and
the continental powers would linn
it themselves largely if not al
together to tactical operations.
There is general agreement,
moreover, that the North At
lantic powers should create a uni
fed command, that they should
increase their armed forces, and
that the United States and Britain
should strengthen their ground
troops and air forces on the con-
tinent of Europe. There is even
an understanding on the general
, nature of the strategy which the
North Atlantic powers should
employ in case of a conflict.
Relatively little progress has
been made, however, in carrying
out these understandings and
agreements.
There is no unified high COM
mand. There is not even an ef-
fectively functioning unified plan
ming staff. Still less, accordingly,
are there any practical plans for
actual operations.
e None of the arms increases
which have been promised or pro-
posed since the Communists in
yaded South Korea has been
voted; none of the new units
which have been called for has
been trained, equipped and de-
ployed where it is or soon may be
nedeed. No specific, positive
pledges have been made as to the
sizes and types of forces which
each signatory will commit under
any Piven circumstances. The
answers to President Truman's re-
quest for information as to what
arms increases the other sigma
tories propose are vague and gen.
.eral in character and too modest
lin the scope of the increases they
propose.
Debating Society
{ There is no agreement, further
more, on what part-if any-Ger-
man production facilities are to
play in the re-arming of the At
lantic community. The treaty
deputies haven't even discussed
these questions yet.
: The appearance of a German
delegation at Strasbourg may well
be a harbinger of increased par
ticipation by the Bonn Republic
in Western Europe's affairs, but is
is only a harbinger, The Council
of Europe is a debating society
nothing more.
Even the Schuman plan, which
is vastly more practical under
taking than the Council of Europ'
is, and which is relatively far ad
vanced, still requires much hare
work before it will be ready TO
formal submission to the govern
ments whose approval is necessar.
before it can go into effect.
The greatest single obstacl
which stands in the way of prog
ress in all these projects Is tn
unwillingness of individual ma
tions-including the United State
to surrender their sovereignt,
to any "supranational" authority
In view of the clear capabilitie
and intentions of the Soviets ant
their satellites, however, it seem
to a good many highly knowledge
able and level-headed people her
that the nations of the free worl
are going to lose at least som
of their sovereignty no matte
what they do or don't do, and n
matter how they feel about it.
The free nations have only on
choice, IN this view:
They can surrender some @
their sovereignty voluntarily t
friendly international agencies Q
their own design and devising, Sc
up for their own common wea
and defense-or they will sur
render it all, under naked an
brutal compulsion, to the Kremlir
cBy Special Advancement With the
et. Louis Post-Dispatch)
4