Show War Is s Poorest Possible Solution To the Russian-American Russian Problem There is a good deal of talk going around relative to the prospect of war with Soviet Russia and how to deal with the possibility Some of it involves appeasement sur sur- render Some involves immediate use of the atom bomb in Korea and China Some involves an bomb A-bomb surrender ultimatum ultimatum ultimatum ulti ulti- to Soviet Russia The latter was the suggestion in Salt SaIL Lal Lake e City the other night of Imre Kovacs a former Hungarian who spoke before the Bonneville Knife and Fork club He said the United States should tell Russia's leaders to get Communist troops out of Korea immediately or we would drop atom bombs on Moscow He said it would be better to kill half a million Russians I in Moscow than to permit ourselves to tobe tobe tobe be dragged into an exhausting war with red China His suggestion was greeted with considerable considerable considerable con con- applause It is in a way an appealing proposal With one bold stroke we cut the Gordian knot of Russian imperialism the Communist Communist Com- Com menace and the need for a peaceful peaceful peaceful peace peace- ful world We Ve scare Russia into surrender or end the menace once and for all with witha a neat bomb drop down the Kremlin chimney r. r Unfortunately were we're afraid it wouldn't work out quite so smoothly and easily In the first place ultimatums between great powers do not work out very well Great powers have positions of prestige they they have national pride which pride which they feel compelled to uphold They may be scared to death but they cant can't show it Suppose the Russians issued such an ultimatum to us Would we crawl into our hole like a spanked puppy Not for a minute Nor do we think would Russia surrender in the face of a U. U S S. S ultima ultima- tum So then we drop the bomb We Ve destroy destroy destroy de de- de- de stroy much of Moscow We Ve kill many thousands of people But do we compel Russian surrender We Ve doubt it any it-any any anymore more than a similar Russian attack would compel our surrender Worst Vorst of all is the fact that such action action action ac ac- ac- ac tion would ignore the United Nations and thereby risk American involvement in a devastating war with Soviet Russia in which we would have few or no allies Whatever we do in dealing with the Russian menace should be in cooperation with the thc other nations of the nonCommunist nonCommunist nonCommunist non Com world War Var between the whole non-Communist non world and Soviet Russia and her satellites would be bad enough but a war between the United States alone and Russia would be stupid A strictly Russian-American Russian war would be long-lasting long and terribly de de- de- de There would be scant hope that cither either we or they could ever end it save in mutual exhaustion War Var on any basis is a poor solution to international conflicts That is why the concept of an international organization designed to settle these disputes is the great hope of humanity for peace That Thatis is why America should take no provocative provocative provocative tive action no matter how tempting on its own We Ye must work through the United Nations We Ve must leave open every avenue for negotiation and com com- promise Peaceful settlement of this crisis through the U. U N N. and not war is the only real hope the hope the only real solution to the most vexing problem this nation and our civilization has ever faced army man power is mobilized into fighting fighting fighting fight fight- ing rather than administrative units We Ve talk about matching the Russian strength in Europe but we cannot hope to match it on a fighting man for fighting fighting fighting fight fight- ing man basis if we continue to follow our old practices in maintaining the bulk of our military man power far behind the battle lines pushing pencils cataloguing spare parts or driving cars As a matter of fact it has always been somewhat of a mystery to the layman and to many a hugging foxhole-hugging G. G I. I why it takes so many men to supply and maintain one soldier up front The fighting fighting fighting fight fight- ing G. G I. I will swear he doesn't get any of the fat from this overloaded administrative tive setup setup and and he always suspects the fat in theory intended for the fighting man is all lost somewhere between the Pentagon building in Washington and his personal foxhole |