Milford chronicle., 1953-10-16
lAnSIUer to SOViet
by WALTER LIPPMANN

by WALLER LIPPNhAFNN
NO DOUBT because he has been much too
busy with other things, Senator Knowland
(R-Calif.1 has misunderstood the problem of the
so-caled security guarantee for the Soviet Union.
In his news conference on Monday he was under
the impression that the idea is to offer the Soviet
Union a guarantee that she may remain unds-
turbed and secure in the middle of Germany and
of Europe. This, said the Senator, would be an
other Munich And so it would be. But is that the
idea? In view of the fact that the idea was launched
by Churchill, that it has been indorsed by Aden-
auer, Bidault and Dulles, it cannot mean what the
Senator thinks it means.
The statesmen who are working on the pro-
posed guarantee were not born yesterday Does
Senator Knowland, suppose that Adenauer, for
example, is urging the Allies to give the Russians
guarantee that they may remain in possession of
Eastern Germany? Or that Dulles is thinking of
signing treaty to legalize forever the Soviet mill
tary occupation of Eastern Europe? Or that
Churchill-of all men, Churchill-iS trying to con-
trive another Munich at the climax of his career?
THE TRUTH of the matter is just about the
exact opposite of what Senator Knowland sup
poses. The purpose of security guarantee is not
to insure the Soviet occupation of half of Europe
it is to promote and facilitate Soviet military
withdrawal from Europe. The future of Europe
and the peace of the world depend on whether an
agreed withdrawal can be negotiated.
1t may not be possible to do this. But the basic
situation today is that the Red army cannot stay
in the center of Germany for more than few
short years at the outside: if it stays too long,
there will surely be German national explosion
in which all of the occupying powers will be in-
volved On the other hand it is very dangerous for
the Soviets to withdraw their Army. For such are
the hatreds caused by the Stalinst oppression
that in all likelihood the satellite governments
would be overthrown by fanatically anti-Soviet
uprisings as the Red army withdrew.
THIS Soviet demma-that it is dangerous for
them to stay and dangerous for them to leave-is
the real problem of security. Soviet propaganda,
naturally enough, never mentions it. But there
can be little doubt that this is what the Russians
are really worrying about when they say that the
United States and NATO are conspiring to start
war; They cannot seriously believe that Eisen-
hover is going to attack them. What they must
really fear and not without reason, is that re-
armed but dismembered Germany might move
upon the East, raising the captive peoples Of
Poland and the other satellites, engaging NATO
and the United States in the crusade
The idea of some kind of guarantee is addressed
to this extremely dangerous dilemma in which the
Soviet Union is caught There are. it seems, many
people who are puzzled as to why we should worry
about whether great aggressive power is afraid.
They should remember that while fear is not al
ways an element in aggression, nearly always it
is an element. Men, like animals, are never more
dangerous than when they are frightened and cor
nered. The wise men of Europe and Of America do
not wish to conner the Russians.
WHAT would have to be guaranteed assume
ing that the extremely difficult problem could be
solved, is that the unhcation of Germany and the
liberation of Eastern Europe will be achieved by
negotiation and not by violence, and that the new
Europe and the Soviet Union will both be secure.
We are only at the very beginning Of this business
which may, however, unless things go to pieces,
develop into a very great undertaking Of epochal
significance.
The central principle of this undertaking is
already discernible from intimations which have
come recently both from Germany and from
France 1t is to convert the proposed West Euro
pean military alliance into an all-European guar
antee of security; to convert the West European
market into an all-European market; to convert
4 the West European political community into an
all-European political system in which the evacu-
ated countries could without unmanageable vio-
lence, take their place.
Such a European order will like Rome, not be
built in day. But the effort to build it is.worthy
in itself, and will confer great dignity upon those
whoparticpate init and will bring its own rewards