Evening star., 1952-10-26
Korea: Two Versions

N0Ee0: Two versions
Last Friday the American people and the
free world at large heard two versions of the
tragic Korea story One was submitted by
Secretary of State Acheson to the United Nations
General Assembly in New York. The other was
set forth by General Eisenhower the Republican
presidential candidate, in an address to politi-
cal audience in Detroit. Since both differed in
their emphasis on sources of responsibility, it is
interesting, if not instructive, to compare their
arguments.
In Mr.. Acheson's long and meticulously de-
tailed version, the story begins in 1943 when the
Soviet government in the Cairo Declaration,
solemnly pledged itself to cooperate in estab-
fishing Korea as a free and independent land.
Although reafhrmed at the Potsdam and Moscow
conferences Of 1945, this pledge-as subsequent
events have demonstrated all too clearly-was
never regarded by the Russians as anything but
scrap of paper to be Systematically dishonored
Their record is eloquent on that score. Far from
joining in efforts to make the country united
and Self-governing entity, they kept it divided
with an Iron Curtain rejected repeated Amer
lean and United Nations proposals for free
elections; set up puppet regime in Pyongyang;
inaugurated subversve activities and guerrilla
warfare in the south; and withdrew their occu-
pying troops in December, 1948, only after having
trained, armed and insured their tight control
OF powerful satellite forces. similar United
States withdrawal was carried out six months
later in keeping with U. N. resolution. Then,
almost year to the day afterwards, the Com
munist aggreSsorS with battle plans made in
Moscow and with weapons supplied by the
Kremlin, struck across the 38th Parallel in a
criminal adventure that has ever since had the
full support of the Stain dictatorship,
Summed up, the main point of Mr. Acheson's
thesis is that the torment of the Korean war
exists because of the dominance-seeking Soviet
Union-itS inStigator and continuer-and that
the United Nations will have to keep on fighting
the aggression until the Kremlin, through its
Pelping and Pyongyang puppets accepts the
U. MS terms for an honorable armistice But
In his version of the story, General Eisenhower,
although agreeing that the decision to fight was
utterly right and inescapable" and that the
battle must 60 on until there can be peace with
honor, has had this to say: "There is Korean
war for the simplest of reasons: Because free
leadership" (meaning particularly the Truman
administrator failed to check and to turn
back Communist ambition before it savagely
attacked u.s." But the only Recommendation he
has offered to support the charge is reference
to warning made in the Wedemeyer report of
1947 against withdrawing American troops, a
similar warning by congressional group in
June, 1949, and Mr.. Acheson's 1850 statement on
Americas defense perimeter. The Recommendation,
moreover, is extremely debatable in terms of its
validity as an argument that bunders by the
White House and State Department invited the
original Red assault and hence are the primary
source of responsibility for the blood that has
since been split.
Actually, although many blunders are
chargeabe to the Truman administration, and
although it is conceivable that the Communists
would never have struck if the blunders had not
been made, the Eisenhower version greatly over
smpf1es history. More than that, its presenta-
ton at this time-even though perhaps inevitable
IN a political campaign-tends to undercut our
American plea to the U. N. for a resounding vote
OF confidence in what has been done thus far,
under United States leadership, to stop the
aggression and negotiate a decent armistice
After all, the chief culprit in this situation is
the Stain dictatorship, not the Democratic
Party. If General Eisenhower is elected, as he
we'll may be, he will find that his proposed trip
to Korea will not magically bring about peace
IN Korea Nothing will do that unless and
until the Kremlin-the real villain of the
piece-decides that there is no further profit
to be had from prolonging the war over there.