Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-09-03
West Germany Must Be Armed

West Germany Must Be Armed
AS Secretary OF State Dulles has de-
clared in his thoroughly somber statement
on the subject, Frances rejection of the
European Defense Community has con-
fronted the North Atlantic Treaty Organi-
cation with an emergency in which NATO's
ministerial council must meet soon in an
effort to make the best of bad situation.
Since Mr.. Dulles is now In the Philip
pines for the conference on organizing
new security system for Southeast Asia and
the Southwest Pacific, this special NATO
get-together probably cannot be held until
some time next month. Meanwhile, how
ever, the financial. defense and foreign
ministers making up the council OF the IA
nation alliance-in which France still is
key member-must realize that they can
afford to lose no time in preparing proposals
for specific action designed to offset some
of the worst effects OF the EDO defeat.
The central and most urgent problem in
this situation revolves, Of course, around
the fact that the NATO council, including
its French members, has long been in unan-
imous agreement that the participation OF
armed West German manpower is essential
to the effective defense of free Europe. With
that interchangeable point in mind, France
itself originated the EDO project in order to
make Chancellor Adenauer's Germany an
integral part Of a supernatural political,
economic and military community that
would operate within the framework of the
Atlantic alliance as bulwark against the
threat of Soviet subversion and aggression.
a. @2vH
mportance-another of the prime virtues
of this six-power community was its pro-
posed system of internal controls against
the danger. that the Germans might revive
their past militarism.
But France, voting against itself and
against the best interests Of free Europe as
well, has now diSowned its own excellent
brainchild in way that requires our West
ern alliance to search for substitute ar
rangement. AS far as our own country is
concerned-and latest reports from London
indicate that Britain Is in full agreement
Mr.. Dulles has plainly indicated that that
substitute, though poor alternative to the
EDO, must be a program granting sover-
eighty to the West Germans without delay
and providing for their rearmament, on
very substantial national basis, within the
NATO framework. After all, despite the
immensely tragic shortsightedness Of the
National Assembly's vote in Paris, the fact
remains that the military participation OF
these people is indispensable to the safety
of the Atlantic community, and American
policy must be governed accordingly-re-
gardless of what members of the French
Parliament may say and do.
~, Premier Mendes-France, for his own
part, has openly acknowledged that some
thing like the measures suggested by MIR.
Dulles must be adopted in the absence OF
the EDO. But significant segments OF the
French National Assembly, wholly apart
from the notwithstanding Communist dep
uties, seem to believe that their country
because Of its veto rights as a member OF
the Atlantic alIiance-can kill off any and
all moves to arm West Germany as a free
and sovereign nation. That happens to be
true, however, only II such action Is taken
within the limits Of the NATO treaty; &C
tually, there are other ways of doing the
same thing If Paris chooses to create
difficulties.
What must be hoped for, needless to
say, is that there will be no such difficulties.
In any event, now that France has turned
thumbs down on the EDO, West Germany
must be armed-and as quickly as possible
in one way or another, preferably as a
NATO member. Accordingly, when the min
isterial council holds its special emergency
meeting, it should be quick to recognize that
fact and take action on 1t. Otherwise the
durability and security Of the entire Allan
tic community will be in grave danger.
This Is Too Fast