Show n BACKGROUND ASIA Congress Wonders if il Individual Americans Would Support Strong Sarong Indochina Policy Which Risks War B Br By WALTER SUED SHEAD 1 Washington Correspondent National Weekly Newspaper This Is the last of ot tour four articles on Indochina and the Far East I X WILL TILL iLL individual Americans sups support support sup- sup s V V port a strong policy in Indochina Indo- Indo J a china and in southeast Asia which i might risk a shooting war It was under the belief that they would not support such a policy J that some congressional leaders in inthis this administration refused to back backup backup backup up Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and the policy he advocated either united action or massive retaliation Particularly was this true this year with a congressional election coming up in November Whether this is a atrue true tru appraisal of the thinking of the American people people peo peo- pie or not has no place in this article The fact remains that on I 1 this assumption true or false the United States elected to bow in deference to its tw two principal allies Britain and France at Ge Ge- neva Further the belief that the American people were sick of war i and would no longer support the I Korean conflict led to the almost frantic peace at any price settlement settlement settle settle- ment in Korea I And so it remains to be seen whether or not as Mr Dulles predicts predicts predicts pre pre- failure to follow a resolute policy now will result in greater war danger within a few years I And so 50 without accomplishing real peace the American taxpayer will go on spending his tax money in both Indochina and Korea in Japan in Formosa to maintain maintain maintain main main- tain the huge military and naval bases we have extending from Alaska and the Aleutian islands I down through Japan Korea Formosa Formosa Formosa For For- mosa Okinawa the Philippines and other Pacific islands We maintain maintain maintain main main- tain an army of occupation in Japan Japan Japan Ja Ja- Ja- Ja pan and another huge army is ranged along the truce line in Ko Ko- Ko- Ko rea In addition we are extending loans economic aid and Point Four assistance in India Pakistan Nepal Afghanistan Indonesia and Arabia Our federal budget for 1954 included Included included In in- exclusive of military-end military items programmed for Indochina The budget for 1955 asks for exclusive of military-end military items We have given and will continue to give technical assistance through the Foreign Operations Operations Operations Op Op- Administration on repair and improvement of roads airports air air- ports pom seaports seed and crop im ira- improvement improvement provement and other assistance We are the biggest importer of raw natural rubber from Indochina importing some metric tons last fiscal year Already teams of FOA technical experts are in Indochina Indochina Indochina In In- making a reappraisal for Point Four and economic assistance assistance assistance assist assist- ance needs in the remaining free area There are those in the isolationist isolationist isola isola- group in Congress who deClare declare declare de de- clare as they have on all the economic economic economic eco eco- aid programs that this American money is just being poured down a drain In this case money going to Indochina is also a support for the whole budgetary position of the French nation which includes the French commitments to NATO in Europe Without this help in Indochina France could not have met her commitments to support NATO which this country considers vital to the buttressing of the entire western world against Communist Russian imperialism in Europe So aside from the human element these are some of the stakes the American people have hav in Indochina Up to this day it has not been the American way to desert an ally nor nora a weak nation seeking its own liberty liberty liberty lib lib- lib lib- erty as is Indochina There is clear evidence that tha t asa asa as asa a result o of the uneasy Korean truce both Russia and the Chinese Reds Red were able to divert huge quantities quantities quantities ties of ammunitions and the materials materials ma ma- of modem modern warfare to th the front And both nations furnished some manpower at the division level in experienced om cers While there is Ia no open proof any Chinese army was used in tha the invasion of Laos or in the fightIng fighting fighting fight fight- ing in north Vietnam there it Is plenty of evidence that the cease cease- fire in Korea permitted the Reds Red to step up their aggression and support of Ho chi Minn Minh with powerful powerful powerful pow pow- erful artillery tanks and tion It also must be admitted that French failures in Indochina wen wets not only military but political ai ac well Some Far East experts believe believe be be- lieve that only a miracle can save sav Laos and Cambodia from being swallowed up without much trou trou- ble The guarantees of their securIty security security ity and independence were so weakened in the final Geneva agreement they probably cannot be saved from Communist penetration penetration penetration tion without open intervention That's the Indochina Far East stake If the American people support support support sup sup- port Secretary Dulles in his firm resolute policy theres there's the chance the Reds may back down and communist aggression may be halted in its tracks That's the best that could happen The worst would mean world war III An atomic- atomic hydrogen bomb war If U we back down and further appease the power-hungry power Reds it could mean the loss of all for which we fought in the Pacific the Philippines Philippin s for Japan and Korea would become other Red satellites behind the iron curtain and the U. U S. S perimeter of defense would be withdrawn eastward inthe in inthe inthe the Pacific The question is do we have the leadership for such resoluteness now and will the American people back up that leadership |