Evening star., 1953-12-16
Mr.. Dulles Cracks the Whip

Inc .ultlmatum which secretary OF state
Dulles has issued in the European army matter
seems less harsh when read in context than
when read in headline form. In either form,
however, 1t has served to stimulate vigorous
and hostile reaction from some of our friends
in Western Europe.
1t is not difficult to understand French fears
and French problems with respect to the pro-
jected European Defense Community. But
there are compelling reasons why France should
proceed to ratify the EDO pact which her own
statesmen initiated. One reason is that EDO
offers the best means of bringing German
troops into the Western defense organization
Another is that it probably would give the maxi
mum assurance against another Franco-German
war; These certainly are reasons enough for
Mr.. Dulles to use all appropriate means to
induce the foot-dragging French to act.
He has employed two means. One was his
statement to a session of the North Atlantic
Council This session was closed, but a text
somehow was made public. On the whole, it
was an excellent statement. But it contained
these paragraphs
If. however, the European Defense Com
munlty should not become effective; if France
and Germany remain apart, SO that they would
again be potential enemies, then indeed there
would be grave doubt whether continental
Europe could be made place of safety.
That would compel an agonzing reap
praisal of basic United States policy
Later, Mr.. Dulles held a press conference
There, he repeated the substance of his formal
statement to the council, and he added that if
the Western countries decide to commit suicide
(the reference being to a possible new war
between France and Germany they may have
to commit it alone.
In fairness to Mr. Dulles, it should be re-
peated that in the main there was nothing
threatening coercive about either the state
ment or the press conference. He said that any
reappraisal of our policy would not involve
abandonment or repudiation of our NATO OBJ
legations. He pointed out that Congress has
already provided that so per cent of the money
appropriated this year for prospective EDO
countries cannot be paid out by our Government
unless EDO comes into existence He did not
pound the table shake his fst Rather, he
was trying to persuade and convince Further
more, Defense Secretary Wilson's announce
ment yesterday that the President wants to
share our atomic know-how and our atomic
weapons with our NATO partners suggests
some careful planning. Mr. Dulles may have
had the job of picturing the dismal conse-
quenceS of failing to act while Mr.. Wilson had
the pleaSanter assignment of holding out the
inducement to act.
The shock to the French came in the few
sentences in which Mr.. Dulles seemed to
threaten These sentences were seized upon
and played up in the press of Western Europe,
with the result that normally independent or
pro-American papers came out with such COM
mentS as "heartbreakng" "a complete
lack OF diplomacy" unfortunately brutal"
and France doesn't want to have to take
orders from anybody"
It is not clear why Mr.. Dulles elected to go
about this business in a manner which does
appear to put the French in the position of
taking orders. Perhaps he felt that private
appeal to French leaders would be hopeless,
and, on the record of their performance, there
is reason to believe that many of the men
governing France respond more to pressure
than to reason. 1t is a serious matter, how
ever, to appeal over the head of the French
government to the French people, and this,
in effect, is what Mr.. Dulles has done. Not
knowing what his reasons were, there is little
ground for criticizing his firm action. 1t
may be pointed out, however, that the gamble
he is taking is both large and a hazardous
one. 1t is hardly an exaggeration to say that
all we have been doing to enhance the security
of Western Europe depends on the outcome.
If an offended France now refuses to ratify
the pact, our plan for the defense of Europe
falls apart. The fact is, however, that the
French have been stalling for long time in
this matter Mr.. Dulles may have had valid
reason to believe that things had come to such
stage that the only hope of securing ratifica-
ton lay in cracking the whip.
Marjorie Rawlings