Evening star., 1951-05-06

IS far more affinity toward the
BY the peace treaty Of l94T, which
drastically limits it's military po-
tential. So much for the NATO
nations.
Political prejudices play a pre-
ponderant role in Western STRAIT
egy. The organized manpower Of
Spain and Turkey is being kept
out Of the defense setup Of the
West. although all military men
American, British and French
are unanimous in their belief that
both these countries could sub
stantially increase the fighting
ability Of the free nations.
Spain Left Out
The military support of Spain
may be lost to the West at
crucial time in it's history through
the persistent refusal of the NATO
governments to provide the Span
ish armies with needed military
equipment and/or through con-
tinuation Of policy of keeping
that country on the verge of eco
nomic and financial bankruptcy.
An equally unreasonable atti-
tude is manifested In regard to
Turkey, which has proven its
loyalty to the United Nations and
to this country.
Turkey has been able to Or
ganize an important nucleus Of
armed forces, thanks to the timely
assistance given her in 1947 by
the Truman doctrine. The money
required for organization of a
military force to meet a threat on
two fronts-from Bulgaria on the
west and Russia on the east-haS
made deep inroads into the coun-
try's finances.
Under the Marshall Plan, Tur-
key is receiving less than ! per
cent of the total amounts given
the other nations. The Ankara
government has been sounding
the alarm in Washington and
pleading for greater economic aid
to prevent its finances from col
lapsing. 1t pointed out that
present difficulties are not caused
by lax spending, but by the needs
of the armed forces.
Turks Ask for Help
Moreover, Turkey has been
urging Washington either to in
clude her in the NATO or give
her assurances Of Americas sup
port by a mutual defense treaty.
Turkeys membership in NATO
has been vetoed by the British
and French. Washington is drag.
ging its feet in regard to the mu-
Itual-assistance treaty and the
Ankara government now is force
fully pointing out to our Govern
ment that it may soon be too late
to do anything for this loyal ally.
History-and particularly recent
history-is full of instances in
which nations have fallen into
the clutches of relationships be-
cause aid to them was "too little
and too late"
This is the picture of Europe
from the Channel to the Cauca-
sus. It is a continent which has
the possibility, with our assist
ance, not only of withstanding
the Red onslaught but also of de-
feating it, provided that its forces
are readied before Stain pushes
the button.
; The Kremlin has no definite
timetable for conquest. It has a
master plan which provides for
the enslavement of all free peo-
piles. But the timetable for its
execution depends entirely on cir
cumStances and the blunders
which other powers make.
There is no doubt that the
Kremlin is watching with interest
the political developments in
Europe and America. 1t realizes
that the ideologies which it has
nstilled in many of the Western
European governments have Gre
ated the much-desired confusion
which results in the Slow-motion
Of rearmament.
The lack of genuine unity
among the Allies-due to an un-
believable misunderstanding of
their real objectives, which is the
defeat of Red totalitarianism-
may cause Stain to consider this
year the best time to achieve his
purposes with the greatest chance
of success.