Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-09
THE WORLD SCENE
The Cold War:
A Stock-takinq

President Eisenhower last week
gave the Nation his appraisal OF
the free worlds position today in
comparison to 1858, when his adj
miniStration was inaugurated.
Occasion for the appraisal was
a reporters question at the PreSi-
dents Wednesday press conference.
The reporter. noting that Demo-
cratic Labor Day orators had al
most all agreed that the United
States, under the Republicans, was
closing the cold war;" asked Mr.. Eli
senhower bluntly: do you think
we are losing the cold warp"
Mr.. Eisenhower replied that he
thought the best thing to do was
to compare the situation as Of today
with that existing in January, 1858.
when he took Office. He then cited
several instances in international
affairs which he declared to have
been advances" in the continuing
struggle of the free world against
communism.
The President noted also that
there had been "a change in the
whole Soviet approach to this prob
lem. and they have changed into a
more :. economic propaganda plan
rather than depending upon force
and the threat of force, and this
requires intelligent, fast work on
our side to put our own case better
before the world, and to operate
better. And l think that that
change has been made or is being
made effectively, and that the So
viets are not doing as well in this
new plan as they first thought they
could"
The Presidents Rundown
AS evidence that the situation for
the free world was better than it
had been at the advent of his adj
ministration in January, 1858, Mr..
Eisenhower mentioned specifically:
. Korea. That war. the President
said, was going on under conditions
which made it impossible to win.
We we're fighting then, he said.
merely to hold on to the line we
then had, and suffering losses for
that goal only. The fighting was
stopped, the President said, land
we still hold that line
. IndO- China. There, said Mr..
Eisenhower, the French were in
volved in a hopelessly losing war
with the prospects repeated to
me time and time again that we
were going to lose the whole penin-
sula. :" But since his admins
tration took Office, he went on, the
war was settled ION basis that at
least gave the free world firm
foothold :. under stronger leader
ship s.. and we have removed the
faint of colonialism from that
area"
Q Iran. The President recalled
that in early 1858 the Tudeh Com
munist) Party in Iran was threat
ening to take over the strategically
placed nation on Russias southern
border. 1.-THE problem was settled"
he observed.
Q Trieste. The controversy be-
tween Yugoslavia and Italy over
the disposition of the great
Adriatic port city, Austrian before
World War I and Italian between
the two World Wars. was "a point
of great friction and great un-
easiness to the free world" and that
issue too has been settled, Mr..
Eisenhower declared.
. Austria. That nation was di-
vided, the President noted, and
I'VE couldn't seem to do anything
about it." But Austria is now free
and united.
. Guatemala. That Central
American nation, the President re-
marked, brought us all sorts OF
trouble" but communism was re-
PEELED there.
On the other side of the coin,
the President noted that there was
very little progress to be recorded
in the Israel-Arab dispute. He re-
called that I'VE thought at one time
that the Johnston plan (the plan
of Eric Johnston. head of special
United States mission to Israel, for
a comprehensive water and power
development project in the Jordan
River Valley had been fully ac-
cepted, and it was fully accepted
in a technical way. 1t was
merely the political aspects that
kept it from being approved"
But summing UP, the President
said he believes that the situation
for the free world is stronger one
today than it was in January, 1858,
and don't see how anyone can
look at the facts as they exist and
deny that"
Clouds Still Remain
Yet, bright as was the interna-
tional outlook as painted by the
President. there were clouds on the
1858 horizon that have stubbornly
refused to go away and still hover
menacingly over the peace of the
world. While Mr.. Eisenhower did
not attempt in his press confer
ence to brief the newsmen on the
entire world situation. look at
the problems of 1858 and those Of
1856 shows quickly that many Of
the danger points still exist.
Perhaps the most challenging Of
those problems is the continued di-
vision of Germany. Every effort to
find a common denomination with
the Soviet Union has failed.
Neither the Communists nor
the West have denied that the re-
uniflcation OF Germany is highly
desirable, nor have the contenders
denied that reunification is deeply
desired by the German people.
But the West has held firm for
a reilnif1cation plan based on free