Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-14
Brink of War

Secretary of State John Foster Dulles
Is up to his ears in boiling hot water, and
he has only himself to blame.
Mr. Dulles troubles stem from an
exclusive interview which he gave to Life
magazine. Why he did this is anyone's
guess. Presumably, however, Mr.. Dulles
thought it would be nice to start off an
election year with friendly article in
q friendly magazine. There is nothing
inherently wrong with this. Mr.. Dulles
is not the first man in public life, nor will
he be the last, to welcome bit of pub
Lefty which he thinks will be helpful to
himself and his party. What is wrong,
or, rather, what is incomprehensible, is
that Mr.. Dulles, or whoever acted for him
in the matter, should have failed to real
lie that this particular article, far from
being helpful, was certain to be harmful.
Both In tone and content, the interview
is damaging to our relations with our
allies and should be embarrassing to Mr..
Dulles
The article says that on three occa-
siens Mr.. Dulles, with the Presidents full
support, walked up to the brink Of war
war in Korea after the truce negotiations
had started. in Indo-China and in For
mosa. Then came this direct quotation
OF the Secretary of State:
You have to take chances for peace Just
as you must take chances in war. Some say
that we were brought to the verge of war.
OF course we were brought to the verge of
war. The ability to get to the verge without
getting into the war is the necessary art.
II you cannot master it. you inevitably get
into war. II you try to run away from 1t,
you are scared to 60 to the brink, you
are lost.
The impression that the world will
get from this is portrayal of Mr.. Dulles.
In his own words, as a master of the art
OF going to the verge of war without
getting into war-as a man who has
thrice marched to the brink of war and
who, If need arises, will march again.
There are other comments in the article
which imply that the French and British
have not mastered this art, and there is
one which suggests that the British
backed out of an agreement for joint
action in the Indo-China matter.
1t may be that Mr.. Dulles is right in
thinking that his deterrent policy.
policy OF putting the enemy on notice that
force would be met with superior force,
saved this country from three wars 1t
would be quite understandable If he had
said these things in private conversation
But 1t is incredible that the Secretary of
State would consent to the publication,
with direct quotes, of such views and
comments.
1t Is even more incredible that Mr.
Dulles, having given the interview did
not know what form 1t was going to take
for publication. Now that the fat is in
the fire, Mr.. Dulles has read the article
and he says that the statements specif-
cally attributed to him "do not require
correction from the standpoint of their
substance" But in a press conference
Wednesday he said that he had not read
the article up to that time and that he
had no precise recollection" of what he
had said during the interview.
To paraphrase an old saying, this is
. deplorable way to run State Depart
ment. Mr.. Dulles is in serious trouble of
his own making. He has marched to the
brink Of diplomatic fiasco, and he is
going to need all of his skill in extrica-
ton to keep from topping over.