Evening star., 1950-10-15

n away to the vastness of Siberia.
the very countries which they at
tempted to subjugate under the
Kaiser and Hitler.
For reasons of their own the
French will not admit that if
they had co-operated with the
United States and Britain during
the years before the Hitler era,
when the Weimar republic should
have been kept alive, World War
II might have been avoided.
When they talk about the Ger
man threat" they remind us Of
the days when the Kaiser and
Hitler were reigning supreme in
the Reich. But they overlook the
interim period between 1920 and
1881 when the German republic
might have been saved if France
had adopted a more unselfiSh
and understanding policy toward
the Weimar republic.
The Bonn government has in
dicated to us that under certain
conditions it would be willing to
join in defense of the West. The
primary condition is said to be
that German manpower not be
used as mere cannon fodder.
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in
sisted that If a German force is
to be organized under the overall
command of an American general.
it should be provided with the
best waF material available.
This is a reasonable condition
since, in the event of aggression
from the East, the Germans, to-
gether with the present meager
American, British and French
forces, will have to stand the
brunt of the attack, supported
by American and British tactical
and strategic air force.
Western Germany could put in
the field in record time no less
than 10 divisions, which will need
only short training. Another 10
divisions could be mustered II
needed within less than a year
from the youngsters who had no
part in World War II.
Diplomats Blocked
This is, in effect, a force larger
than the French can hope to
mobilize in addition to what they
already have today under arms.
Yet the French government stub
bornly refuses to entertain the
idea OF creating a Western Ger
man army.
The French indicate that they
fear more a limited German force
than they do the Russians. To
our argument that so long as the
Germans must depend on the
United States for their war ma
terials, and are not given the
chance to create an air force, they
can constitute no threat to
Frances security, the French
shrug their shoulders. They an
swer that no French government
could survive the ire of the French
people if it were to approve or
even encourage such a scheme.
American diplomats represent
themselves as powerless, since.
they say, we cannot blackjack our
Allies. Blackjack diplomacy
never pays dividends. But there
is a world of difference between
blackjacking a country into sub
mission and using strong and real
arguments into making a govern
ment realize the truth.
What the French and other con-
tinental countries in Western
Europe want, in effect, is that
American men should fight on
their territory with only modest
help on their part. The French
position. supported by the Benelux
countries, may be summed up as
follows: Let America spend many
more billions on the recovery pro-
gram. Let America spend many
billions on providing arms and
for their forces. Let
America provide the manpower
needed to meet eventually the
large Russian and satellite ground
forces which are estimated-con-
servatively-to aggregate more
than 200 divisions.
Suspicious Misplaced
Their suspicious of Germany at
this time of intense crisis are mis-
placed. American diplomats
should tell our good friends on the
Western banks of the Rhine that
the American people so far have
made unparalleled sacrifices and
are willing to continue them in
the future for the common cause
Of the security of Western civili-
zation. But there is a natural
limit to our capabilities.
Since it is obvious that the
creation of 40 Western European
divisions will remain a. blueprint
Tor a long time, it is essential for
hem and for us, too, that we at
tract whatever support we can
ind.
The British are more reasonable
IN the question of rearming Ger
many but are playing European
politics on this subject. They hope
hat by supporting the French
stand on rearmament of Europe
hey will benefit by nullifying the
attempt to create German
French steel and coal merger.
But both the Attlee and Pleven
governments in London and Paris
ire determinedly opposed to in
'lusion of Spanish manpower in
he Western defense setup. There
S not much enthusiasm in ad-
ninistration quarters in Wash
ngton. The myth that Franco
vas hostile to the Allies in World
Var II still persists in certain
deOlogical Quarters which hava