Evening star., 1950-03-17
To Win the Cold War

Secretary Acheson'S address at the University
OF California should be read carefully by every
American anxious to understand and keep in
focus the fateful struggle now raging between
the free world and the world of the Soviet
Union
This struggle-the so-called cold war-does
not involve artillery barrages, marching armies
or aerial bombardments. Yet, in terms of what
its outcome can mean to our own Nation and
to free men everywhere, it is as tough, as total
and as deadly serious the shooting one that
ended In 1945. And the uniquely dangerous
thing is that unless we and our friends abroad
remain firmly united in it, the Kremlin can win
without ever directly resorting to armed force.
For Soviet policy, as Mr.. Acheson has
declared, is compounded of non shooting ideo-
logical, political and propaganda weapons
capable of overthrowng the free nations on
one-by-one basis until all or most of them are
brought under Moscow's control. Thus, working
through the fifth column of the international
communist apparatus, and fanaticaly ami
mated by Marxist dogma as interpreted by Lenin
and Stain, the Kremln has already taken over
vast areas of Europe and Asia by means of
black but masterful technique of infiltration and
subversion. Further, it has left no room for
doubt that it is intent upon doing the same
thing to the rest of the world until the United
States-its prime antagonist-stan alone, iso-
lated and fully ripe for a Red revolutionary
upheaval.
In face of all this, it is naive to talk about
approaching Russia for new negotiations to ease
the grave tensions now troubling the world In
Mr.. AcheSon's words, If the men of the Kremlin
really want to ease those tensions, they can do
SO readily enough in several ways. They can
do 1t, for example, by cooperating in drafting
real peace treaties for Germany, Austria and
Japan; by withdrawing Soviet military forces
and secret police from Europe's satellite coun-
tries; by permitting the people of those coun-
tries to express their true will in genuine elec-
tions; by joining in an effective system of atomic
control; by lifting the Iron Curtain, etc, etc.
Certainly, if the Stain dictatorship would do
these things, current fears and doubts would
lessen and mankind could look forward to re-
turning to normal.
But why delude ourselves? Fear, uncer-
tainty. confusion, tension are the very things
that the Kremlin wants at this stage. They are
an inseparable part of the Soviet drive to impose
on other peoples the Red totalitarian way of
life-a way of life as different from ours as evil
is different from good. Mr.. Acheson has no
illusions: Russia's leaders will not change their
conduct until the progress of the free world con-
vinces them that they cannot profit from
continuation" of their present policy.
Accordingly, if the free nations are to CO.
exist with the Soviet world and eventually
change the nature of that world, they must
refuse to be fooled by "beguiling proffers of
peace" that are unaccompanied by concrete acts
OF good faith; they must unite as closely as
possible; they must complete the task of defense
against Red expansion; and they must steadily
increase their strength by pressing ahead with
projects like the Marshall Plan, the Atlantic
Pact and the projected Point Nv Program
BY carrying through with such an effort,
the free world can win the cold war. Both in an
industrial sense and in the sense of being hated
by the great mass of the oppressed the Soviet
tyranny is inherently weak. 1t cannot triumph
over the West if the West, as Mr.. Acheson advo-
Gates, keeps moving forward with militant
political and economic program.