Evening star., 1952-01-02
1852 Might Be Year Of Biz War
Time to Strike Is Now From the Military Viewpoint Of Reds
Russia Could MiscocuIote Patience of American People

considered and deliberate plan
to test the firmness not only Of
the United States but Of her
allies.
Now the Communist regime
has learned that the European
American alliance is still q loosl
affair, that no expression Of
resentment came from any
European government allied
with America and that the
United States herself paid the
ransom and thereupon engaged
in a mild form Of protest-the
closing of a couple of consulates
and the decision to do some
blowing Off of steam in the
U. N. Assembly. None of this
spells firmness to Moscow.
The challenge which the
Communists made in Korea in
June, 1850. was really their first
effort to test Americas resist
ance. The United States reacted
firmly for a while, but the rest
Of the Allies subsequently weak
ened and finally a peace-at-
any-price policy has prevailed
in Korea.
Looked at from a military
viewpoint, as appraised in Mos
COW, 1852 is the year to strike.
The American forces are begged
down in the Far East and the
Communists are getting ready
to involve more British and
French forces in Indo- China
and Malaga. More British
troops will be required to keep
the peace in Egypt, and there
are possibilities of other out
breaks in the vicinity of Iran.
All in all, the Allied forces
are spread thin and the North
Atlantic treaty organization has
hardly got going. Stain, taking
a leaf out of the Hitler book,
knows now he can press his ad-
vantages without much risk.
The Nazi leader tested things
out with a march into the
Rhineland in November 1895
and met no resistance. He then
moved on to Austria and
Czechoslovakia and was ap-
peased at Munich in 1888. One
year later the attack on Poland
which Hitler mistakenly be-
lieved would find Britain and
France neutral or Indifferent
led to large-scale war.
Today Stain may reason that
President Truman and Secre-
tary AcheSon do not dare to risk
a war because they really have
no allies in Europe who want
to put up a fight at this time.
Stain Is less concerned about
American rearmament than he
is about the possible growth of
a German army or a continental
army which would use the
weapons being forged for them
In America. His time to strike
is before such q continental
force can be mobilized, rather
than afterward.
The logic from the standpoint
Of military and diplomatic
strategy points to some involve
ment in central Europe, prob
ably with Yugoslavia, which will
again test the firmness Of the
allies. While there is lots Of
talk about what the U. N. would
do in such circumstances or
what the North Atlantic treaty
organization may do in the
event of aggression, it so hap
pens that England is economi-
cally in bad shape and France
has hardly recovered to a major
power position. Europe has no
will to fight today.
The year 1852 is an election
year In America. Neither party
wants to sanction q war of pre-
vention and evidently neither
party is going to allow any in
cident such as the Hungarian
ransom to become the basis for
a demand for drastic action
that could lead to war. Not
single word, for example. has
come from Senator Taft de-
manding firm action against
Hungary now that the flyers
have been released. The ad-