Evening star., 1951-05-13

4Ad44C- PAShCu ALLIES 70 SLdIlQ Oy u
It strikes the unbiased observer
nearly 500 billion on our friends
across the Atlantic; while we have
sent them the best military equip
ment available. sometimes at the
expense Of our own forces: while
we have definitely committed our
land. naval and air forces to come
to their rescue whenever and
wherever they may be attacked,
there seems to be no reciprocity
so far as they are concerned.
These are not mere words. From
the moment that the masses OF
Chinese Communist troops started
waging war on us, our Allies have
played 'possum. Not only have
they failed to increase their mill
Itary forces in Korea-which could
be explained by their lack of ade-
quate forces-but they have done
Everything they could in the Unit
ed Nations to prevent the impo-
sition Of actual sanctions on the
aggressor.
Slow on Sanctions
The explanation of their actions
appears somewhat feeble. It l,
said in official quarters in Wash
ington that the French, the Brit
Iish and the other members of the
Atlantic pact. all of whom are
members Of the United Nations
are loath to see the war in Asia
expand, lest we not have a sufh-
Iciently large force to help them
il the Russians decide to strike
in Europe. But besides their re-
fusal to cooperate on a more
equitable scale with our military
efforts in Korea. they have been
slow in imposing economic and
political sanctions on the enemy.
Moreover, what is even more
striking, the nations of the At
lantic pact, our Allies, have SUBJ
stantially increased export of vital
raw materials and technical
equipment both to the U. S. S. R..
our potential foe, and to Red
China. the actual enemy who is
fighting us in Korea. The 10000
tons of rubber exported from
Singapore to Red China and the
U. S. S. r. in the last IL months
is not chicken feed when we con-
ider that both relationships lack
that raw material to great de-
gree.
The question which many peo-
pie ask themselves today is why
these nations-which would still
be in the depths of depression and
economic despair if we had not
come across with tens of billions
in cash and raw materials-act in
a manner which bellies the fine
words of friendship, loyalty and
unity which their governments
express.
The answer is psychological.
rather than logical. We have
fought two World Wars to save the
European nations from destruc.
ton. If we had not entered
World War I in 1917 there is little
doubt that France and Britain
the pillars Of Western Europe
would have succumbed to the Ger
man onslaught.
No Thanks for Loans
After the end of that war we
were accused of having come to
the rescue belatedly. after they
had been bled nearly white. We
were accused in the '20s of having
paid no heed to the pressing re-
quests of France, Britain and
Belgium until they and their en-
envy were exhausted. We were
accused of playing a skillful po-
litical game, which was to impose
the United States as the dominant
power in the world We did not
receive a polite thank you" for
having. in fact, written off the
small loans amounting to only
some $40 billion these nations
owed from the time before we
Joined them as an associate on
the battlefield.
| We fought World War II to
save the same Western democra-
cies-in which we naively included
the new FrankenStein, Russia
from destruction by the Nazis. It
is true that we entered World War
II only after the japanese at
tackled us at Pearl Harbor. But
there is sufficient evidence, based
on our actions in regard to Ger
many before the Japanese aggres-
sion, that the administration was
determined not to permit the Axis
to overwhelm the Western democ-
racies.
Before entering both these wars
we were-or appeared to be-se-
cure and sheltered from any ag-
gression firm the predatory ma
Itions. Whatever motives may be
imputed to us by our former asso-
ciates in two wars. we played the
role of Good Samaritan. Our
leaders yielded eventually to their
pleas for help. But they were
careful enough not to sign any en-
Itangling alliances. We helped
Western Europe of our own free
will, without answering any treaty
obligations
The shoe is on the other foot
now. We have actually allied our
selves with group of Western
European nations which since 1945
we have just managed to save
from economic catastrophe. But
by doing so we lost our freedom
of action. It is the United States
which now gives the appearance
Iof beseeching the Western nations
to help us.
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