Evening star., 1953-01-18
Mr.. Kennon and Mr.. Dulles

In his address to the PENNSYLVANIA State
Bar Association, George Kennan-whom the
Kremlin has declared persona non grata" as
our Ambassador to RusSia-has taken sharp
issue with one of the important viewpoints held
by John Foster Dulles, incoming Secretary of
State.
This viewpoint, as reaffirmed the other day
before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
is that our "containment" policy against Soviet
expansionisnl--a policy drafted chiefly by Mr.
Kennan-haS outlived it's usefulness, or at least
is not enough in itself, and that the United
States must therefore become more dynamic"
in coping with the present world situation. To
that end, Mr.. Dulles is in favor of exerting
moral pressure and the weight of propaganda"
in Stepped-up effort to weaken the Kremlin's
grip on both the Russian masses and the captive
satellite peoples.
Mr.. Kennan, however without mentioning
Mr.. Dulles by name, has made clear that he
takes dim view of those who point to what
they believe to be the unhappineSs of the
various peoples under Soviet rule, and advocate
policy which, placing our hopes on the pos
sibility of internal disntegration of Soviet
power, would make it the purpose of Govern
ment action to promote such diSntegration." In
his judgment, policy of that kind could be
dangerous, could do much more harm than
good, and he has warned that the Nation should
be extremely careful of doing anything at the
governmental level that purports to affect di-
rectly the governmental system in another
country, no matter what the provocaton may
SEEM"
Because he is one of the ableSt of American
specialists on Russia-perhaps the most brilliant
of all-Mr Kennan should certainly be listened
to very carefully. Yet, even though his counsel
commands the greatest respect, there is some
reason to doubt that the danger he has in mind
is likely to be overlooked by Mr.. Dulles. The
Secretary designate, after all, is no novice in
world affairs Nor is he a stranger to the Soviet
problem or to the pitfalls involved in dealing
with it. Actually, although he has never pre-
cisely defined his dynamic" program of peace
full measures to promote the eventual liberation
of the captive peoples, he appears much too
knowing and experienced to resort to any rash
actions of the type that Mr.. Kennan seems to
fear.
But Mr.. Dulles, as he has told the Foreign
Relations Committee, does not doubt that
good deal more can be done-with Safety-than
has been done up to now to bring moral, polit-
ical and other non -Warlike preSsures to bear
on the Soviet empire. Many distinguished
Americans agree with him, and the mere fact
that Mr.. Kennan has dssented does not mean
that the dissent is correct or final in all par
ticulars. On the contrary, Mr.. Kennan him.
self, who has spoken out only in generalized
terms against incautious or reckless action, may
we'll feel differently toward Mr.. Dulles ideas
when those ideas are specifically set forth.
In any event. Mr.. Kennan is still attached
to the State Department, and it would be pre-
mature to describe his Pennsylvania speech as
evidence of a basic split between him and the
incoming Secretary. Barring such split, there
is reason to hope that his unique talents will
continue to be available to the Nation.