Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-06-11
U. 5. Dealing
Paiienf|yWiih
Gen. deGauIIe
BY EARL H. voss
star stan writer


The United States is pro-
ceeding patiently. more In
sorrow than in anger" TO ex-
plain the facts Of NATO life
to French President Charles de
Gaulle.
There is no serious thought
Of trying to retaliate against
the De Gaulle refusal to per-
NIT stockpiling Of nuclear
weapons in France under
American control. American
officials say. however, there are
so many opportunities for re-
taliation they would hardly
know which to choose II they
were so inclined.
Nor is there any thought of
giving In to President de Gaulle.
The administration has no in
tention Of going to Congress
for special legislation to au-
thorize sharing atomic secrets
with France. Capitol Hill is
not believed ready for this
move.
There is no plan to make
France an exception in the nu-
clear stockpiling system of
NATO, which Britain and Italy
have decided they can accept.
No Retaliation Seen
Moving fighter bombers from
French bases to Britain and
West Germany is not regarded
as a retaliatory move here. Nor
is it rated an important incon-
venience for NATO.
There will be some problems
Of crowding West German bases
as the Bonn government devel-
OPS 1t own air force, but adj
iustments can be made.
The tendency here is to
make little Of the French de-
cision and let time pass, during
which President de Gaulle per-
haps can be brought to realize
that NATO is a true interna-
tional effort, not a conspiracy
to suppress the grandeur OF
France"
When Gen. de Gaulle came
to power a year ago. the State
| Department braced itself for q
dificult time. But the decision
was made then to try to live
with him, for the important
gains he would bring to the
Atlantic community.
This View Still Held
That is still the view.
There is now a stable govern
ment in France. a pleasant ex-
perience for Western diplomats
who spent a great deal Of time
in the first Is postwar years
re-adjuSting to changes in the
French administration.
The French economy Is being
put on a sound basis. The long
overdue dose Of auSterity Is
being administered.
These are developments the
United States does not wish to
disrupt because they are in the
interest Of the whole Western
community.
Meanwhile, officials here hope
to alter some misconceptions
they believe President de
Gaulle has.
He Overrates Executive
For one thing. they think
Gen. de Gaulle does not I'M
derstand how the American
Government operates, over
rating the power Of the execu-
tive and undertaking the au-
thority Of Congress.
President de Gaulle also APP
pears to have overrated the de-
gree Of internationalization of
NATO military forces.
There is some hope here that
he has already come to realize
that France has considerable
authority over the NATO
forces. The largest field COM
mand Of NATO ground forces
is in the hands Of q French
general.
The French president started
from the fundamental military
philosophy that citizens OF q
nation would have no viii to
fight unless they were fighting
for their own country in their
own uniform.
His decisions to pull the
French fleet out Of NATO fol-
lowed and he has resisted all
NATO measures for integra-
ton.
In "infrastructure," tn e
NATO farm fn, the cx,eto,,n ~