Evening star., 1959-12-06
World Alliances
Policy Re-exomined

massive deterrence, and the stra-'
tegic usefulness of overseas bases.
But the simple fact that the
United States will be able to hit
any enemy from bases on Amer
lean soil-this. plus the unthink.
able peril involved for everyone
in any atomic war-must at least
prompt the question: Are over
seas commitments becoming an
expensive anachronism?
Ceiling GIs Home?
Already, at high governmental
levels, the alliance system Is by
no means taken for granted. The
President, the Secretary of Stats
and the former Secretary of De-
fense all have limited in recent
weeks that the day may come
although it is not necessarily immi-
nent-when American GIs will be
called home, or at least thinned
out, of overseas bases.
Such a step would profoundly
affect Americas relationships with
its allies. with the uncommittsd
areas Of the world, and with the
Soviet bloc. In the next few
months President Eisenhower will
visit all three.
The effect on the allies is
clearest. Even If token Ameri.
can forces were left abroad to act
as a kind Of trip-wire, or auto
matte involvement device, the
allies might come to doubt that
in a showdown the United States
really would go to war-H-bomb
war-to rescue them from inva-
sion
They would then no longer be
allies. The essence of an alliance
is all-for-one esprit. Without 1t
an alliance disintegrates. '.
The effect Of a Fortress
America" strategy on the uncom-
mitted areas would be less dra-
matte but equally important. Ths
American presence" in their
vicinity-to borrow a term from
U. N. Secretary General Dag
HammarSkjold-has been of value
to them, whether they have cared
to acknowledge it publicly or not.
Among other things, it has given
them an ace in the hole. some
thing they could fall back on In
an ultimate emergency.
lndio May Ask Help
1t could be that India. n
pressed hard enough by Red
China, would wish to fall back
upon American support. Chandra
S. Jha, India's chief u. N. dele
gate, refused to rule out such d
possibility this past week. If India
is at or near such a point, it
would scarcely be the moment for
the United States to appear to
pull back from its worldwide
responsibilities.
The effect of a Fortress Amer
lea" strategy on relations with
the Soviet bloc would be convul-
Sive. 1t would turn many, if not
most, present calculations upside
down.
For more than four years. the
Soviet Union has been actively
trying to purchase an American
withdrawal from overseas bases.
The Kremlin has offered to pay
a dhigh price; at one time or
another, realizing that such a
withdrawal would compromise or
destroy NATO. the Russians have
offered to eVacuate the Red Army
from Eastern Europe, neutralizs
the Soviet lead in space weapons,
and permit comprehensive U.N,
inspection Of the Soviet defense
system, on the ground and from
the air.
The United States scarcely
would wish to give the Soviet
Union for nothing a commodity
which the Kremlin was prepared
to buy at substantial price. It
would be equally pointless to re-
fuse to sell at any price a COM
modify which the United States
planned to abandon anyway.
Fortress America
What President Eisenhower and
his hosts essentially will be de-
Gliding, therefore, in the next few
weeks and months will be:
OWhether the United States
can contemplate seriously a kind
OF Fortress America strategy; and
of so. how high a price to
charge the Russians for it.
There is, of course, no assurance
that the Russians will give the
West substitute form of security
which would be sound and reliable
even If they got in return the
destruction of the Western system
of alliances. An attempt to explore
the possibilities would be a long.
hard, and dangerous undertaking.
The President, however, wants
to set out on it. believing-as he
pointed out recently to Senator
Humphrey-that the dangers Of
not acting are greater than the
dangers Of acting.