Evening star., 1950-12-13
To Preserve Free Europe


Secretary Acheson and the other Foreign Minis
ters making up the Council of the 12-nation
Atlantic Pact will have to deal with one of the
most momentous issues of our time. That issue,
stated simply, calls for affirmative and swift
action to build up the defenses of free Europe
in an effort to deter the Soviet Union and its
satellites from unleashing an attack aimed at
making the Kremlin dominant all the way to the
English Channel Central to the whole problem
is the question of how and to what extent to
rearm West Germany.
AS far as the members of the Atlantic Pact
are concerned, there is no dispute about their
need to rearm and integrate their forces as fast
and as thoroughly as possible to attain safer
balance of power in Europe-a balance which
at the moment, in terms of land strength at
least is weighted Overwhelmingly in favor of
the Russians. Hence, the United States, Canada,
Britain, France, the Benelux countries and the
rest OF the pact'S s1gnatories have long since
agreed to the idea of organizing unified de-
.fensive system under a single top commander,
General Eisenhower being the man most fire.
quently mentioned for the post.
But the idea is still only an idea 1t has
not yet been translated into operating reality.
Instead, it has been stymied to large extent
by disagreement over the question of rearming
West Germany. which is not member of the
France. Fearful of the rebirth of aggressive
German miitarism the French have been hem
ming and having over the proposal to equip the
Germans, within the framework Of the pact and
under the pacts authority, to contribute to their
own defense and to the defense of free Eu 'ope as
whole-a strictly limited and wholly uon-
aggressive type of rearmament.
The situation is further complicated by the
fact that even If the French agree at Brussels
as they may well do-to support realistic
measure of rearmament for West Germay, the
Germans themselves may prove to be less than
cooperative. As indicated by some of their re-
cent state elections, they are by no means en-
thusiastic about certain features of American and
allied proposals to bring them actively within
unified European defensive system. Although
they are not opposed to the basic idea, large
numbers of them-notably the Social Democrats
insist that If they are to join in the project,
they must be treated as full equals that France,
Britain and the United States must station
more military power in Germany, and that the
people of the country must vote on the issue in
national election.
Over and above all this, the problem involves
the question of Soviet reactions. In mid-October,
the Kremlin-which has been busily organizing
puppet military force in East Germany-formally
declared that it would not tolerate" the rearm-
Ing OF West Germany. Moreover, its German
stooges have just been at pains to warn that
such rearmament must lead irresistibly to war
and a catastrophe" This may or may not be
a bluff, but it has an ominous ring to it, and it
must be reckoned with-though of course not
surrendered to-in whatever action the Atlantic
powers decide upon for the defense of free
Europe.
In any event, action Is certainly necessary
and the faster 1t is TAKEN the better. For the
Atlantic community today-vis-a- Wis Soviet land
power in Europe-s virtually defenseless. The
Kremlin may not allow them the necessary time,
but whether it does not all the free powers con-
cerned-which definitely includes West Germany
must move with the utmost speed to strengthen
and unity themselves to the greatest possible
degree. If they do, they may hope to keep stand
ing. If they do not, then they will be inviting
the Russians to knock them over one by one