Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-03-09
Second Of q Series


of the armed services commit
tees of the two houses of Con-
gress. Since they got back to
Bonn, as one observer put ii
dourly. There's been no rea-
soning with them at. ALL"
BY American standards. the
proposals that have been made
in Bonn for civilian supervision
and control of the armed forces
seem so normal as to be almost
unimaginative. In Germ any
where the historical background
is different, they are looked on
as so revolutionary as to stir
up bitter controversy even
among those who agree with the
basic idea.
Case of Four Colonies
Anyone who doubted this had
convincing proof in the case
of the four colonies which hit
the West German headlines this
winter. AS the first major test
of will-power behind the struggle
for civilian authority over the
now-born armed forces. the case
is still making plenty Of CONVEX
sation in the German capital
today.
The institution involved was
the so-called Selection Com
mittee on Officers" better known
as the Screening Committee.
1t consists of q board Of some
IS members appointed by the
Bundestag, whose job it is to
pass on all former officers over
the rank of lieutenant colonel
who apply for new commissions.
The purpose is obvious: To
eliminate at least from the higher
military echelons those former
officers whose records or political
leanings make them unaccept-
able for positions of RESPONSE
bility in the forces of the re-
public. Membership in the COM
mittee covers a wide range OF
civilian activities. including law
yers, politicians, educators as
we'll as a number of former mill
tary men. The standards which
it applies to individual cases are
not set down in any formal way.
And the reasons it chooses to
accept or reject any, particular
application are kept secret by
law. Perhaps the nearest thing
to the Screening Committee in
the United States is a Govern
ment employee security board.
Served Under Blank
The four "colonels." Of course.
were not really colonies at all,
but former officers, seeking new
commissions. Their case might
have been routine, except for
the fact that these men had
been serving for years on the
army planning staff of Defense
Minister Theodore Blank. And
also except for the fact that the
Screening Committee turned
them down.
The uproar all over Germany
was instantaneous. Defense Min
lister Blank himself was outraged
by the boards finding, taking
the whole thing as a personal
affront to himself. A goodly Sec
ton of the press, aghast at such
civilian presumption toward the
army, raised an cutlery for re-
versal of the decision. Within
the Bundestag itself, members
of the right-wing German Party,
who from the start have con-
sidered the committee an insult
to military honor, tabled a bill
to abolish it. Even the Christian
Democrats, sensitive to the en-
barrassment of Chancellor AIDE
nauer, suggested a number of
changes in the committees
standing orders.
To its credit, however. the
committee, backed by the Social
lists in the Bundestag and the
majority of public opinion. stuck
firmly to its guns. So far, at
least, the decision has held. and
the four colonies are still civil
ians. Furthermore, despite the
open hostility of the Defense
Ministry. Bundestag leaders are
now planning to extend the life
of the committee for at least an
other two years, by which time
promotions from the ranks
should take care of the need for
new officers.
Crucial Test Nears
The fight for civilian control,
however, doesn't stop here. In
deed, it has only just started,
and at the moment seems to be
developing into a complex, three
way tug-of-war between the
Ministry of Defense, government
leaders in Parliament and the
opposition. This struggle has
long delayed action on the all
important Soldiers Law which
lays down the rights and duties
of the individual soldier and will
allow expansion of the armed
forces over the present 5000
man limit. 1t will reach its cruz
'cial point a few months from
now when the Organization
Laws" of the new armed forces,
spelling out their relationship to
the parliament, come up for de-
bate.
In this tug-of-war. the De-
Tense Ministry is clearly lined UP
in opposition to the demands of
the politicians of the Bundestag.
Civilian control, as Herr, Blank
sees it, is not necessarily the same
thing as parliamentary control.
With the example of his four
colonies to spur him on, the De-
Tense Minister is stubbornly re-
sisting any encroachment by the
Bundestag on bis own authority
over the services.
The government leaders in
Parliament - with Chancellor
Adenauer lowering around as a