Evening star., 1952-02-21
NAT0 Begins
Secret Studyof
Soviet Problem
Acheson and Other
Ministers Take Up
Subject at Lisbon
BY the Associoted Press

BY the Asseeiated Press
LISBON, Portugal, Feb. al
The IA Atlantic foreign ministers
met behind closed doors today for
an up-to- the-moment study of the
Russian problem.
A spokesman said United States
Secretary of State Acheson and
his colleagues heard and thrashed
over top-level reports on the
Soviet Union and its latest poll
cies toward the free world.
French Foreign Minister Robert
Schuman told the closed-door ses-
sion about the situation in Indo-
China. Problems of the Middle
East. including Egypt, were gone
over.
Earlier, Allied defense ministers
in less than one hour approved
Military Committee report calling
for so to go divisions to be in the
field by the end of 1852.
The report now goes to the
council. There the full-dress as
Sembly of foreign, finance and de-
tense ministers must settle a con-
f1ict between the Allied chiefs of
staff and w. Averell Harriman's
Temporary Council Committee.
Working on Air Bases.
The committee says the 1854
target of 100 divisions on active
duty or in immediate reserve
must be scaled down IL per cent
because the European economies
cannot afford the full goal.
The military wants to keep the
100-division target. planning pro-
duction so that many divisions
could be armed and supported.
Meanwhile, the top military and
financial brains of the North At
lantic Treaty Organization were
hard at work on the problems of
how defensive air bases can be
strung across Europe before the
1852 building season is lost.
Before the defense and finance
ministers lay blueprints for the
air bases, their communication
lines and control headquarters.
With these completed, the IA
Western Allies could breathe
easier despite the dangers of So
Wet Russia's Korea proven jets.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower. boss
of the alliances military estab-
liShment in Europe, sent the out
line of his needs. What the de-
fense and finance ministers are
pondering is: Who will pay how
much of their cost
Acheson Calls for Strength.
Mr.. Acheson at the councils
plenary opening session yesterday
sounded an urgent call for de-
velopment Of concrete military
strength" and a warning that
defenses so far built will be of
little value unless we finish the
job"
Today the foreign ministers
moved into talks on the relation
ship between NATO and the
European Defense Community,
from whose projected European
army the council hopes eventually
to get 43 divisions for Western
defense. Essentially, the problem
centers on West Germany's place
in the program.
Some progress toward defining
the German status was made inI
weekend London conferences be-
tween West German Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer and the Big
Three Foreign Ministers.
The Germans would Join EDO
but won't be admitted to NATO,
at least for some considerable
time. But the relationship being
worked on is that if any NATO|
member is attacked the EDC's
Six-nation European army, in
cluding German troops,-will come
to NATO's aid, and if any EDO
member, including Germany, is
struck, then the NATO powers
will rally around.
Financing Still Unsettled.
The other five nations proposed
for EDC-France, Italy. Belgium,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands
ARE NATO members.
But they have not yet set up
the European army. Plans for it
are making halting progress, par
ticularly through the French and
German Parliaments. Many ar
rangementS, including financing
and what kind of authority will
direct the army, remain to be
agreed on. -,
Most of the interest among
delegates was focused on the air
base question.
Military men say bluntly the 81
air bases planned for France and
Morocco and a possible 60 Eu-
ropean and North African bases
ultimately envisaged must get
going Otherwise the 1852 con-
struction season will be lost and
1954-the year the military men
say will be the most critical for
peace-will be drawing closer.