Evening star., 1955-05-15
REVIEW OF THE WEEK
Reds Strategy Veers Toward Peace

Global diplomacy last week was
in the first stages Of a chain re-
action set of by German re-
surgence.
The event that started 1t all was
West Germany's induction into the
free world camp. Communist pol
icy had been to prevent this at all
| costs.
And now that it had happened,
the Soviet Union reacted strangely.
Happiness and good fellowship
started busting out all over. Few
observers thought it would last
very long; even fewer discerned
any sincerity In the Kremlin's pa
| cif1c overtures. But the atmos-
phere, nevertheless, was charged
with expectancy.
The Developments
Briefly, here is what happened
last week:
On Monday, West Germany Joined
the anti-Communist North Atlantic
alliance.
On Tuesday. Soviet Premier Mix
OLAF ,Bulganin called for an end to
the seven-year-old cold war, espe-
cially an end to aggressive" propa-
ganda.
On Wednesday, Moscow released
q new seductive disarmament plan.
enticing as the mythical sirens who
used to make dead fools out Of live
sailors.
A fertile bed for the Kremlin's
peaceful seed was provided by Brit
ain, France and the United States
on Tuesday. The Big Three invited
the Soviet Union to a spectacular
heads-of- f-government meeting some
time this summer.
Non-C Communist peoples around
the world, unreconstructed opti-
mists. tended to expect too much to
come of it ALL
In the background there were the
usual ugly reminders that the Com
munists had not suddenly gone soft.
On Tuesday, for instance, a covey
of MICS jumped a group of Amer
lean jet fighters flying reconnais-
sance in the Yellow Sea. The MICS
got the worst of 1.-TWO sure losses
and two probables.
Next day the Soviet Premier an
nounced stridently in Warsaw that
his government believes Formosa
belongs to Red China. He said Mos
COW would support its ally in that
contention. Peiping, in its turn.
proclaimed it would fight at the
side of its senior Soviet partner if
war should come.
Meanwhile, eight East European
countries set up defensive alliance
against possible Western aggFeSsi0n
Saturday. Party Boss Nikita S..
khrushchev and Premier Bulganin
announced they would go to BEL
grade late this month to see Yugo-
slav President Tito. probably in the
hope of patching up their unique
all-Communist quarrel.
KremIin PIons
In its wide-ranging response to
the painful loss of West Germany.
the Kremlin also tipped its policy
for the opening years of the second
postwar decade:
. First, the Soviet Union appar-
emily hopes to convince the Ger
mans not to follow through on their
pledge to rearm with the West. She
is trying to sell them on neutrality.
Reuniflcation with East Germany is
the prize Moscow offers for aban-
doning NATO.
. Second. the Reds Far Eastern
policy is leaning away from war.
SubverSion seems to be the order
of the day. Last week Singapore
Communists may have kicked off
this new SubverSion series with
riot that brought death to an
American news correspondent. For
mosa, it seems possible. may become
a new target for this Subversive at
tack.
. Third, global Communist policy
seems to be shying away from war.
Big wars have become too expensive
for both sides. For the time being.
the United States has made even
small wars too expensive (see Air
Force General o. P. Weyland's
comments on Page Add if the
Reds are wise enough to under
stand. just as important, the So
Wet Unions internal economic po-
sltlon-especially in agriculture-isf
painfully inadequate.
All Soviet policy, of course, is a
reflection of what combination of
forces holds power at the moment.
This continuously shifting leader
ship is capable of changing policy
from month to month.
But If present Kremlin leadership
continues, it seems likely that big
wars are not in the cards-at least
not in the next few deals. Small
wars, If they happen, are likely to
be so small that they will not cost
Moscow much.
The West, on the other hand,
seemed to be entering happily on
a new period Of vigilant confidence
Given unremitting wakefulness and
continuing atomic superiority, the
free world seemed justified in
cautious hope that the big war
mas been postponed, by mutual con-
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