Evening star., 1959-12-13
'Mid-Century Challenge

Although there is nothing basically
new in 1t, the latest report from the
Special Studies Project of the Rookie
feller Brothers Fund is an impressive
document well worth the attention of
all Americans interested in the future
OF their country For 1t sounds timely
warning, with admirable force and clar-
ity, regarding the actual and potential
international problems confronting the
United States "as it moves down the
second half Of the twentieth century
-. in a world of great dangers and
great opportunities"
The problems, as set forth in the
report, touch upon every area of the
globe, and they will surely continue to
bedevil uS-in varying degrees Of acute
neSS-throughout the coming decade
and beyond. That is why the reports
authors place major emphasis on the
need for planning and action to formu-
late and apply an American foreign pol
icy which seeks to shape events and is
responsive to world undergoing pro-
found and rapid change" OF course,
as our Government has learned over
the years, this idea-which is certainly
not novel-iS more easily advocated
than put into effect, but the effort to
make 1t work is nonetheleSS becoming
increasingly imperative.
This is so because, in the words of
the report, "the threat to the survival
OF the United States is today greater"
than ever before in our history It is a
threat that stems primarily from the
fact that America and the rest of the
free world are faced with a grimIy hos
tile and powerful Communist system
that hungerS for global domination. At
the moment the Soviet Union seems to
be anxious, and perhaps sincerely so. to
end the cold war and work out mutually
acceptable agreements with the West.
However, although we must always be
ready for genuine negotiations, we must
be wary OF paper promises, and we must
at all costs maintain NATO and other
allied defenSes at the fullest possible
effectiveness as we strive for trust
worthy settlements with the Kremlin. As
Tor Red China, the reports authors en-
phasiZe that it is likely to keep on being
a menace OF the first magnitude, that it
is in the throeS of a vast and brutal
revolution" that "it looks upon the
United States as its supreme enemy" and
that Its future course is disconcertinplv
unpredictable.
Nevertheless, as far as the Chinese
communists are concerned, the Rookie
1eller study suggests, without specifically
recommending such a policy, that we
may md 1t advantageous in due time
20 extend diplomatic recognition to them
ana stop opposing their admission to
tne United Nations. 1t suggests, in ad-
oltlon, that the alliance between Peininp
ana Moscow, though apparently strong
at present, may deteriorate eventually.
meanwhile, I'VE must avoid wherever
possible courses Of action which seem
10 drive China closer to the Soviet. and
be prepared for new situations as rela-
tlonS between these two massive powers
undergo change"
But the threat of Communist nower
whether Chinese or Russian constitntos
merely part Of what the authors of
tne Rockefeller report describe as "The
Mld-Century Challenge to United States
Foreign Policy" 1t is challenge made
up OF an enormous complex of other
proolems-political, economic and social.
not Just mllitary-all over the earth in.
Guiding particularly vital areas like the
Middle East and deep Africa. We can be
lnoinerent to the prospect only at great
peril to ourselves.