Evening star., 1953-11-15
EDO in the DoIdrums
By Crosby S. Moves

SAAS A~SS VI S4OW1llS OpllA1Ol
that the European Defense Com
munity is fading dream, Amer
lean officials are still confidently
predicting its early enactment.
American policy in Europe is still
firmly pinned to the idea of an
"integrated" European army and
the revival of German military
power. If any alternative solu-
tionS to the EuroDean defense
problem are under consideration,
they are not being discussed in
public.
A month ago, our foreign pol
icy leaderS-including Secretary
of State Dulles-were saying that
ratification of the EDO treaty
could be expected within a few
months" Today, despite impor-
tant changes in the overall Sit
uation, the official line remains
the same.
Situation Is Outlined.
The setup in Europe with re-
gard to EDO is this:
Of the six nations that have
signed the treaty, the problem
of ratification is relatively simple
in three of them. Belgium, the
Netherlands and Luxembourg
have delayed final action only to
see what the larger powers would
do about it. Germany, Italy and
above all, France have presented
the problems and raised the
doubts from the beginning.
A month ago several factors
encouraged optimism. The vic
tory of Chancellor Konrad Ade-
nauer, a staunch advocate of
EDO, in the recent German elec-
ton all but assured final action
on the measure by the Bonn
government. In Italy it was
hoped that the decision of the
Big Three to turn over Zone A
of the Trieste territory to Italian
control would greatly improve
chances of ratification.
Talk of a top-level four power
meeting had appeared to Amer
lean officials as an encourage
ment to European neutralism
and a Stumbling-bl block to EDO,
Secretary Dulles stressed this
point in recent meetings with
Britain's Prime Minister Church.
Ill and received assurances that
Sir Winston would back off from
his earlier demands.
French Expected to Follow.
Finally, it was believed that if
all the other members of the
EDO combination fell into line,
the French would, perforce. fol-
low suit. This feeling is in curl
Gus contrast to the opinion of
many informed observers in
France. But it has consistently
been encouraged by spokesmen
for the French government and
by top people in our Paris en-
bassy.
Since these factors became
clear enough to be evaluated-
and from the State Department
point of view, almost everything
that happens is likely to be eval-
uated in the light of its effect on
EDC-a number of things have
happened.
One of them, from the Ameri-
can viewpoint, has improved the
situation. Russian rejection of
the Western bid for a four
power meeting of foreign minis
ters is good" development,
according to the school which
holds that all signs of Russian
intransigence help to wean our
wiShful allies away from the
hope of a negotiated settlement.
as an alternative to further in
crease in Western military
power.
Other Developments UnfavOrable.
The other developments must
all be classed as unfavorable.
They are:
l. The unexpected snag that
has developed over the proposed
Trieste settlement. Britain and
the United States have backed
down abruptly in the face of
fierce Yugoslav reaction to the
October 8 decision. The italians,
in turn. have been angered by
the delay, growing more restive
and demanding with each pass
ing week. The Italian parlia-
ment has fatty refused to con-
slider the EDO treaty until the
Trieste issue is settled-and sat-
isfactorily settled. At this point,
with settlement more up in the
air than ever, Premier Pella's
hands are firmly tied. The Big
Three, having themselves first
linked Trieste to the EDO, are
now uncomfortably Snagged on
their own bait.
2. The decision Of the French
Parliament to put off action on
EDO at least until February
France is facing a presidential
election in mid-DeCember. No
serious matters of national pol
icy can reasonably be expected
to be settled in the meantime.
Public Opinion Shifting.
8. The effect on European
public opinion of reports that
the United States is revamping
its defensive strategy in Europe.
The State Department moved
fast to hush and deny Defense
Department statements that the
United States was planning to
withdraw some Of its forces In
Europe and go in heavily for q
strategy of atomic defense, in
cluding the storage of atom
bombs in Spain.
These reports fed the lively
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