Evening star., 1952-11-10
France, NATO and Indo-Chino

Admiral Radford, commander in chief of the
United States Pacific Fleet, has just had some
encouraging things to say about the military
outlook in Indo-China. On the basis of first
hand information received during his visit there
a short time ago, he has fatty declared that
recent French military reverses at several north
ern outposts have been greatly exaggerated"
and that actually the situation is better than
last December and possibly the best since the
hostiities started" in 1946
This relatively optimistic view is supported
by the latest news from the fighting front. The
news is that French Union forces, in perfectly
executed pncers attack northwest of Hanoi, have
succeeded in cutting off one of the main supply
lines over which the Kremlin-serving Ho Chi
Mini and his Communist guerrillas have been
getting great deal of their war equipment from
Red China The development can hardly fail to
handicap the enemy. According to on-the-scene
military analysts, it is bound to put him on
the defensive throughout much of the territory
he now holds.
Good as this news is, however, the fact re-
mains that Hos forces, although their recent
attack operations thus seem to have been stopped
and broken, are still far from being decisively
defeated. AS has happened repeatedly during
this bitter and bloody six-year-old struggle, they
have been checked but not shattered, and they
can be counted upon to strike back again on
later day. The truth is, indeed, that as long
as the Kremlin, in connivance with puppet
Peping, is resolved to support them, they will
almost certainly be able to carry their guer-
rilla warfare, frustrating the French and Wet
namese effort to restore peace and order.
AS far as France is concerned, the situation
even though perhaps better than at any time
since 1946-is particularly difficult and trying
one. 1t is difficult and trying not only because
it has exacted, and continues to exact, very
heavy toll of casualties and money, but also
because it has been seriously underwriting the
effort of the French to fulfill their commitments
to Western defense within the framework of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization In other
words, in terms of their manpower and economic
resources, their investment in the Indo-China
war has been weakening their capacity to invest
in NATO.
Here is problem that can be much more
easily outlined than solved. Some people have
tendency to oversimpify it by saying that it
exists only because the soft" French are reluc-
tant to do what the times demand. But such
judgment does them grave injustice, for it
leaves out of account all the blood and treasure
they have been expending since 1946 to prevent
the Reds from seizing -China-the gateway
to strategically vital Southeast Asia Certainly,
their contribution in that respect has been
thing Of great value to the free world, and their
NATO difficulties must be weighed accordingly.
Those difficulties, in fact, may require spe-
cial United States assistance. just as we have
been bearing the main brunt of the war in Korea,
the French have been bearing the main brunt
of the war in Indo-China, and as a result
because of their limited resources-they seem
to need bolstering to enable them to do their
full share in the defense of the West. The issue
is one that Foreign Minister Schuman. during
his current American visit, hopes to be able to
discuss with President-elect Eisenhower. It is
obviously highly important issue. and every
effort must be made to resolve it satisfactorily.
psychologist finds that Short thick rotund
persons are Of an easily adjustable nature. It is
not thus in the seat next to ours in football
stadium