Evening star., 1951-01-27
Mr.. Truman on Aggression

There is a commendable directneSs about
the Presidents statement that he believes in
calling an aggressor an aggressor. And the
nations of the free world would be in a much
better position today if more chiefs of state
felt the same way about it,
The Chinese Communists know perfectly
well that they have committed an act of ag-
gression in Korea. They know that we know
It, And they certainly are not going to love
us more or hate us less if we try to pretend
that we do not know it, or if we show that we
are afraid to call a spade a spade.
The gentlemen in and out of the United
Nations who are doing so much wiggling and
squirmng in this matter seem to think that
a fortnight Indictment of Red China as an
aggressor would close the door to further
negotiation and lead to a full-scale war. But
the chances that the result would be quite
the reverse of this.
There is no reason to suppose that the
leaders of Red China are fundamentally unlike
other would-be conquerors of recent history.
If the nations arrayed against them show signs
Of weakness, as was the case with the countries
which opposed Hitler, they certainly will take
advantage of that weakness. If they see that
the nations of the West are afraid to call ag
gression aggression when it occurs in Korea, the
temptation to undertake new aggressions else
where will be that much stronger. On the
other hand, if the West is firm in this matter,
If the free nations stand together and demon
strate that they have the courage to call things
by their right names, the Chinese may hesitate
to embark on new adventures In any event,
we may be confident that frmness and candor
on the part of the West are not going to provoke
all-out war in Asia
The real danger of that kind of war will
arise if and when sanctions are invoked against
the Chinese. And it is at this point that the
need for care and restraint arises.
There are those who say that an indictment
of China as an aggressor would of necessity be
followed by punitive measures. But this is not
necessarily true.
In the first place, it is not clear what, if
any, effective sanctions could be invoked against
China, and, if they are going to be ineffective,
sanctions should not be invoked at all 1t is
always necessary to avoid undertakings, political
or military that are beyond the range of ones
capabilities. If the U. N. has not the means to
apply sanctions that would bring the Chinese to
terms, then the alternative to incurring grave
risk of war which nobody wants is to accept
the fact that this aggressor cannot be punished
at this time.
1t does not follow however, that the in
dictment of China would be a barren or futile
thing. At the very least, it would extricate the
u N. from the shameful and self-contrived
OlleIlud III III iIoCl1 III
and it would have the added virtue of keeping
the record clean and straight.
The forces of evil have been at large in
this world for long time, and they are not
going to be dissipated in day or year. There
will never be any improvement, however, unless
men have the courage to identify evil when they
see it and to condemn it for what it is. This is
the simple and direct thing that Mr.. Truman
wants to. do, and the outlook for this world will
be better If the U. N. takes its courage in hand
and does it.