Milford chronicle., 1952-04-25

PAAA~ AeSpuD44C5 Australia
sultation with Congress and without
any justification from the terms Of
the Atlantic Pact. That is the pro.
gram to build up a great interna-
tional army on the continent of Eu.
rope with a substantial commit
ment OF American land troops.
! think it should be made clear
first. that this was in no way con.
templated by the Atlantic Pact and
that the United States is in no wav
obligated to engage in any such
project because Of the ratification Of
the Atlantic Pact. The proposal vio-
lates the general principles of for
eign policy which have advocated.
but ] do feel that the special situa.
ton OF Europe justifies the station
ing Of limited number Of American
troops on the continent Of Europe
l believe it should be limited and
that no further commitment should
be made beyond the six divisions al
ready promised. without thorough
reconsideration of the whole policy
and definite further action By Con-
gress itself.
The Senate Acted
Congress could never obtain from
General Marshall any definite state
ment that six divisions were the
limit Of an American contribution
in time Of peace, and in view of the
past history of the Administration It
is reasonable to feel that in another
year we will be asked for more
divisions to carry out this plan.
The Senate finally dealt with the
situation by approving the general
contribution Of six divisions to Eu-
rope but indicating that the Presi-
dent should return to Congress for
authority TO commit any larger army
to the continent of Europe in time
Of peace.
General Eisenhower has made
progress in persuading the Euro
pean Pact members that their own
safety depends on arming them
selves adequately in a united de-
Tense against possible Russian at.
tack. Certainly a Western Europe
adequately armed and prepared to
meet any Russian military threat is
a tremendous addition to the Sc
curity of the United States. I hava
lid that I think it justifies our
temporary contribution of some
American divisions to stimulate that
effort. Our aim should be to make
Europe sufficiently strong so that
American troops can be withdrawn
from the continent Of Europe.
Danger Of Lund War,
/ am concerned about the serious
danger Of committing our greatest
efforts to a land war on the con-
tinent Of Europe against Russia. The
program which the Administration
is pursuing apparently contemplates
that we send, or promise to send. to
Europe within few weeks Of the be-
ginning Of the war enough Ameri.
can troops to defend the pact coun-
tries including Norway, Denmark,
Holland, Belgium and italy. I do
not believe we can prepare in time
OF peace for any such project with
out straining our economic ability
beyond the limit.
We also risk the loss Of a war.
loss which in the end might threat.
en- the very security Of the United
States itself.
! somewhat doubt whether the
Russians really can deliver an
atomic bomb. Nevertheless, we are
proposing to spend some three bill.
lion dollars building air shelters in
this country to protect our people
and cities against Russian atom
bombs delivered all the way from
Russia itself.
II that Is a possibility, then sure.
ly there is danger that the Russians
can destroy all Of the ports our
Army may be using on the con-
tinent. They may be able to pre-
vent the landing Of troops and the
furnishing Of adequate supplies.
They might even make Dunkeroue
escape impossible. One atom bomb
at Hungnam might have destroyed
the entire American force which
escaped so successfully from there.
One Greet Danger
In my opinion we are completely
able to defend the United states It.
SELF The one great danger we face
is that we may ovar-commit our
selves in this battle against Russia.
Germany lies in ruins today because
Hitler thought he could conquer the
world when he had no such ability.
Italy Is a poverty-stricken nation be.
cause Mussolini thought that he
could create an Italian empire.
An unwise and overambitious for
eign policy, and particularly the
effort to do more than we are able
to do, is the one thing which might
in the end destroy our armies and
prove a real threat to the liberty Of
the people Of the United States.
NEXT WEEK: The Russian
menace IN the Far East and
Far Eastern policy.
lFrom "a Foreign Policy Tor Amart.