Evening star., 1954-12-22
Are We Betting on Peace?

It may be, as Defense Secretary Wilson
has suggested, that the decision to speed up
the reduction in our military manpoWer
rests on belief that the threat Of global
war has diminished Certainly the PreSi-
dent would not be ordering such a sharp
cut IN the size Of the Army, and lesser
reduction In naval strength, II he thought
war was just around the corner.
It may also be true, however, that this
Is not entirely gamble on short-range
peace hopes.
At his last press conference, the Presi-
dent gave what he called a summary OF his
thinking on this matter Of military man
power He spoke of the need to maintain
forces capable of discouraging an attack on
attack If one should be made He also dis
cussed the vast Importance, from our own
point Of view, Of being able to keep such
vitality important areas as Western Europe
and Japan from falling into hostile hands.
Our active forces those In being
would be looked to primarily for the de-
fensiye offensive mission Of protecting the
United States. On the other hand, said the
President, we must rely mainly upon a
proper reserve system for the safeguarding
Of overseas areas, bearing in mind that In
event of war 1t will take considerable time
to transport troops to foreign theaters. In
summary. General Eisenhower said, we can
cut back on personnel in the active forces
as long as we keep our continental defense,
our striking power and our reserve system
operating at its maximum.
This, Of course, leaves the question OF
the so-called little wars-Korean wars
which might have to be fought mainly with
foot soldiers and without atomic weapons
The President passed this one over
rather lightly. In general, he said, If you
can win big war you certainly can win a
little one. And within bearable cost we can
only be prepared, in terms Of ground armies,
to meet a limited number of threats In a
limited number of places. We cannot be 100
per cent ready everywhere, and we must
strive to develop defense establishment
which, thinking in terms Of cost can be
maintained for so years If necessary.
It has to be admitted that this is con-
cept which carries serious risks. It might
play into the hands of an enemy who is
very strong in terms of manpower. It also
must be admitted, however, that it is a
concept which offers certain advantages.
I'll O4lG stIlC pldIlllCQ ECQuCtlOll
will not greatly affect our relative strength
in terms Of foot soldiers In this respect
we cannot hope to match the Communists.
They can always bring overwhelming man
power to bear at points Of their own choos
ing.
Furthermore, there Is to be small
increase in terms OF manpower available
to the Air Force. This can increase our air
defense and striking power If. in addition,
the dollars saved by the manpower reduc-
tions are applied to research and develop
ment of new weapons especially tactical
weaponS-the economy, on balance, can be
profitable one.
With all this said, it still is clear that
a risk is being taken--a risk which has to be
balanced against what we are able, or will
ing, to support in terms of defense estab-
lishment over long period of time. The
President, in speaking of his decision, said
that it was calculated risk. The layman
can only hope that he has calculated care.
fully and we'll.