Evening star., 1952-08-28
Mr.. Dulles on 'Contoinment'

John Foster Dulles, in his Buffalo speech
to the American Political Science Association,
has gone off the deep end in declaring that
this Nations program of Containing" communism
should be abandoned as failure. Although the
statement comes from man who is supposed
to be one of General Eisenhowers top advisers
on foreign policy, the general himself-if his
words and deeds of the past mean anything
can hardly be in agreement with it.
For the so-called "containment" program
against Soviet aggresson-a program best illus
trated by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
has been built up in large measure by none
other than General Eisenhower in his capacity
as supreme military commander of the NATO
alliance. He has been out of that role now for
just few short months, and there is no reason
to believe that he has drastically revised his
thinking on the alliance or on similar anti
Communist projects, since becoming the Repub-
lican candidate for the presidency.
Actually, in this instance, Mr.. Dulles has
said something that does not fit in with his own
past views. He has always favored undertakings
like the Marshall Plan and the Atlantic pact,
both of which have been of great and historic
Importance in the "containment" program. How
then can he describe that program as failure
that ought to be abandoned" when he is still
a strong advocate, along with General Eisen-
Buffalo statement. he seems merely to have let
his oratory run away with him and trap him in
glaring inconsistency.
What Mr.. Dulles has called for is a more
affirmative" foreign policy. He wants much
greater attention paid to areas like Asia and
the Middle East. Beyond that-and in this
General Eisenhower has implied his agreement
with him-he proposes that the United States
actively undertake to disintegrate the Soviet
empire from within" by encouraging the peoples
behind the Iron Curtain to engage in passive
resistance, slowdowns and nonco-operation" In
other words, he emissions program under which
our Government would make an extraordinary
effort to bring about popular rebellions and the
overthrow of the Communist satellite tyrannies.
Although good case can be made out for
some of Mr.. Dulles proposals, the same cannot
be said for his plan to crack up the Soviet
empire. 1t advocates development that every
free man would like to see happen but it is
exceedingly vague, entirely lacking in details,
and unless he can show convincingly how it can
be operated successfully short of an al-out war,
he cannot expect American and Allied public
opinion to hail it as more realistic or promising
undertaking than the "containment" program
a program that has been far from being failure
even though it has been considerably less than
a complete success.
Thus despite its shortcomings the contain
ment" policy-drawn up with overwhelming
bipartisan congressional support unquestionably
has played vital role in checking the further
westward advance of Soviet power Moreover, as
far as Asia is concerned, it is policy backed by
American and Allied arms in Korea, and If we and
our friends abroad continue to hold our ground
with it while building up our military strength,
then we can become too powerful to be challenged.
In that event, unable to get their hands on the
steel, oil, skilled manpower and vast productive
resources of the free world, the men of the
Kremlin are likely to feel mounting internal
pressures that can in due course split up their
satellite empire and force them to pull in their
horns.
Viewed in this light in terms of what has
been done with it thus far and of what its
potentials are for the future, anti-Soviet "con-
tainment' certainly does not deserve the harsh
judgment MIR. Dulles has passed upon it.