Evening star., 1953-12-03

accept.
The reason: The Wet NameSe
political structure is too weak
to inspire any hope for the
future. The French, of course,
are committed to pulling out of
Indo-China as soon as the war
is won-and unashamedly eager
to do so. But at this point, the
French are barely started on the
job of training a civil service
and developing level of politi-
cal consciousness strong enough
so the Wet NameSe can stand
on their own feet.
Reds Could Wait a Year.
The Communists look power
full enough today to step aside
for a year, then come back and
take over the country--peace-
fully and probably with quite
an outward show of respect for
the democratic process.
The contrast between the po-
litical naivete of the Wet
Namese and the political ma
turity of the Wet Mini is that
great.
Moscow-trained Wet Mini
political cadre could do the same
job that Moscow-trained Czech
and Slovak Communists did in
Czechoslovakia. Only it would
be much easier. There is little of
the political awareness in Wet
Nam that there was in Czecho-
slovakia.
In Wet Nam, as in most other
places in the Far East, political
awareness is restricted to a very
thin layer of leadership. The
masses" are uneducated and
have no interest in distractions
like politics. They leave all that
to their leaders.
Too Few Leaders.
The trouble is that the Wet
NameSe at present don't even
have their quota of political
leaders. There are too few of
them even to keep the population
in French-held territory solidly
on the free world side. The Wet
Mini, on the other hand, have
enough political cadre" to hold
their own Wet Namese territory
and an appalling portion of
nominal French territory as well.
| Such is the situation in Indo-
China today. The same problem,
only little bit less acute, faces
1 the free world and particu-
larly the United States-if this
war is fought to a conclusion.
Gen. Henri-Eugene Navarro
is reported to have said recently
/ that at last hescan see light at
the end of the tunnel. He be-
lieves, in other words. that mill
tary victory in Indo- China is in
sight. His top field commander,
Gen. Rene Cogny, told me in
Hanoi recently that the French
timetable calls for complete vic
tory by the spring of 1856, two
and a half dry seasons Of fight
ing away.
Political Miracle Needed.
1t will be a political miracle
many times as miraculous as
Gen. MacArthur's in Japan if
the Wet Namese are ready to
take over their own government
by 1856 or 1857. The French
are trying to develop all the
village, city. prefectural, re-
gional and national officials
they need in six or seven years
they started in 195O-to catch
up on a half-century of daw-
ding. If they can do even a
half-baked job in such a short
time, the free world will be for
tunate.
AS leader of the free world, it
is for the United States to think
long and hard about that day
when peace comes to Indo-
China.
There is hardly need to recall
that Indo-China is the key to
Southeast Asia.
Three Courses Open.
There are three courses for
Wet Nam to take when the war
is over and the French go home.
/. The country could set up
a democratic form of govern
ment in the hope that political
leaders and a civil service would
develop swiftly enough to with
stand new theological on
slaught by the Reds.
2. The country might be taken
over by the strong Wet Namese
military organization now being
developed. The urgency of vim
ming the war has forced the
French to put all the best Wet
Namese brains into the army,
whether they are suited to the
army or not. The step to mill
tary dictatorship at the end of
this war would be a small one.
3. The country might be taken
over by the Communists through
political inf1ltration.
1t will be the free worlds job,
and particularly the United
States. to guard against the last
two possibilities while helping
the first to come true.
Aware Of Dangers.
United States Ambassador
Donald Heath and his staff are
keenly aware of the dangers
ahead, of course. The Ambassa-
doris strategy. apparently is to
whistle cheerfully and loudly,
working the while as feverishly
as the French will let him to
awaken native interest in the
democratic process.
There is, of course. no problem
of awakening the Wet Namese to
his craving for independence.
The trouble is that these naonle