Evening star., 1951-05-06

The indian government ShoN
policies of Moscow than to those
|of its Western friends. The In
dian masses are not POLITICAL
minded. The handful Of leaders.
lied by Jawaharlal Nehru, are
frankly sympathetic toward the
Russian point of view which, in
Asia, is represented by Asiatic
lnationalism rather than by COM
munisra, a mere window dressing
to lure ideologists into the Soviet
conspiracy.
Gain in Iran
There is every indication that
in the event of a showdown with
the Kremlin, India will be on the
Kremlin's side-passively. at least.
| The Muscovites last week gained
their most important victory in
Iran, where a new So-called ma
tionaliSt government has taken
over from leaders who were
friendly to the Western concept of
freedom. The Kremlin's victory
must be aScribed more to the
bungling by Washington and Lon
don diplomats than to its own
clever scheming. F
Since 1946, when the United
States spearheaded the move in
the United Nations to maintain
Iran as free and sovereign state,
that country, weak as it was. be-
came the symbol Of Western
prestige in the oil-rich Middle
East. Now Western prestige has
suffered a serious blow. Iraq and
Syria may be next on the list to
become satellites.
Oil today is essential to waging
war successfully. Iran, Iraq and
Saudi Arabia together have more
oil resources than the United
States and naturally far more
than all of Western and Central
Europe put together. The Red
lava which now is engulfing Iran
may well continue to flow danger
ously toward the other Arab
states.
Lack of Preparedness
The recently created free states
in the Pacific and Indian Ocean
areas-Indonesia, Burma, Malaga,
India. Pakistan and even the Phil
Iippines, all with vast resources of
strategic raw materials-may Sue
cumb, too, unless drastic steps are
taken by the Western powers.
The West is talking instead of
getting ready for what many con-
slider an inevitable showdown be-
tween the remaining free nations
land the Eastern dictatorship.
In spite Of ominous warning
signals. the defense of the West
lis still confined to the North At
Ilantic Treaty Organization, just
las if that relatively small portion
Iof the West could resist alone.
A new election is due soon ir
France, it is hoped. But unit
that election has been held anC
1.-THE new National Assembly con-
venes, the present cabinet can be
lonly a stop-gap government
(which does not dare to take dras-
tic steps toward new rearmament
in keeping with the blueprint
made last fall, when it was de-
Icided to appoint Gen. Eisenhower
as supreme commander of the
NATO forces.
The French ground forces are,
in fact. weaker than they were a
year ago. One metropolitan divi-
lsion had to be sent to Indo- China
and at least two others had to be
rushed to North Africa, where the
Moroccan nationalists are in effer-
vescence against the French
regime.
Election Interferes
France has the capability of
mobilizing a large ground force
But it would be suicidal, say the
French politicians, to order a
large, or even partial, mobilization
Just before the French people go
Ito the polls. Such an action
would give the Communists and
the left-wing parties a sure ma
ljority. Normally a few months of
delay would not be tragic. But
under present world conditions
every day counts.
The situation is better in
Britain, although that country
also is in the throes of a major
political crisis. Belgium is far
behind in the fulfllment of her
NATO obligations and so is Hol-
land. Italy is still shackled, inso-
far as rearmament is concerned,