Evening star., 1950-12-30
Text of Dulles Call to Organize Collective Defense

formidable, whereas free societies
look divided and weak. Actually.
that is an optical Illusion. The
reality is just the opposite.
Take Russia. Out of its 200
million people. only about 6 mil
lion, or 3 per cent are members of
the ruling Communist Party. The
political prisoners number from
10 to Is million. or twice the total
membership of the party. The
party itself is shot through with
distrust and suspicion and there
are periodic purges as between
party factions. No one, even in
high authority, feels personally
safe. In the case of the satellite
countries, the situation is even
more precarious. For example.
there is much unrest on the China
mainland, and in Poland and
Czechoslovia the people are forced
TO accept officials of Russian ma
tionality because no trustworthy
persons can be found at home.
When a few men rule despot-
ically 800 million, that is bound
to be vulnerable position. Many
OF the 800 million are sure to be
sullen, resentful and eager for
change. Most of the others will
have been so beaten into submis-
siveness by the harsh discipline of
the police state, that they have
lost all sense of personal respon-
sibility and could not respond to
the needs which war descriptions
would impose. War can be very
unkind to rulers who are despots
and who have Systematically de-
stroyed the individual initiatives
OF their people: They know that
and we can increasingly help them
to see the light.
The Fallacy> of Area Defense.
When it comes to straight mill
tary strategy, the free world seems
momentarily in a mood of some
confusion and without any agreed
deterrent program.
The Soviet Union has interior
lines. It has concentrated men
tanks, artillery and strategic anc
tactical planes around the hub OF
the great circle of its control. The
rim starts near the North Pole
swings south along the border OF
Norway. Finland, Sweden, West
Germany, Austria and Yugoslavia
then east along the border o1
Greece, Turkey, the Arab states
Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India
Burma, Indo-China and Malaga
then northward close to the Philip
pines, Formosa. Japan, Korea anc
Alaska. From within this vast
orbit, single will can, in secrecy
plot and act to strike any one oi
many nations with overwhelming
force.
1t may be possible, by pre-
arranged defense, to make that at.
tack costly, particularly where ses
and air power play role or where
as in Western Europe, there i.
depth and numbers and military
experience on which to draw. But
it is not practicable to build up il
each one Of the more than 20 ma.
tions making up this vast frontier
OF about 20 900 miles, static de.
fensive forces which could max,
each nation impregnable to
major and unpredictable assault
by the Red armies of Russia. T,
attempt this would be to hav,
strength nowhere and bankruptc,
everywhere.
That, however. does not mea,
that we should abandon the Who'll
idea OF collective security an
build our own defense area wit
the help of such other countrie
as we might pick because of thei
capacity to be useful to us.
The whole world can be conf.
dent the United States will not a
the moment of supreme danger
shed allies who are in danger tt
whom we are bound by common
heritage and by past fellowship ir
war and peace. 1 do not interpret
any one as urging this. Any natior
doing that would scarcely be in 8
position thereafter to do much
picking and choosing for its owr
account. 1t would have elected q
dangerous course.
You can plan. on paper, what
1t seems should be an i'm.
pregnable defense, a China wall
a Maginot line, a rock ot
Gibraltar, an Atlantic and Pacific
moat. But the mood that plan.
such a defense carries within it.
self the seeds of its own collapse
A defense that accepts encircle-
ment quickly decomposes. That
has been proved a thousand times
A United States which could be
an inactive spectato. while the
barbarians overran and desecrateo
the cradle of our Christian civili-
cation would not be the kind of q
United States which could defend
itself.
Deterrent of retaliatory power.
Fortunately, we do not have to
choose between two disastrou:
alternatives. 1t is not necessary
either to spread our strength al
around the world in futile at.
tempts to create everywhere 8
stats defense, nor need we craw