A Little Stupid

On an issue of no importance whatever, the U.S. has deadlocked the U.N. Assembly, thus losing some friends and some face.

Russia has had two votes on the eleven-member Security Council, its own and Poland's. When Poland's seat became vacant, the U.S. and the Latin American republics decided to support Czechoslovakia, which in foreign policy is 99.44% Russian controlled. The Czechs, however, figured that they could keep their 00.56% of independence better by staying out of the limelight. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk campaigned against himself in Lake Success lobbies.

Several weeks ago, on the morning of the voting, Masaryk, accompanied by Russia's Andrei Gromyko, turned up in the office of the Assembly President, Brazil's suave Oswaldo Aranha, and announced that Czechoslovakia did not choose to run. Gromyko said that the Ukraine would be a candidate instead. Latin American delegates then agreed to support the Ukraine's Dmitri Manuilsky. This did not indicate any love of Russia south of the border (see LATIN AMERICA). The Latins assumed that the U.S. was willing to see the Security Council go on voting 9 to 2. In any case, the stumbling block was Russia's veto, which it could exercise without a yes man.

The Latins were somewhat startled when the U.S. turned up voting for India's unpredictable Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. Eleven ballots have been taken, including two this week, and neither Manuilsky nor Mrs. Pandit has won the necessary two-thirds vote, because the Latin Americans and the rest of the Western bloc are split.

Last week a Latin American delegate said: "We don't get it. When Manuilsky votes with the Russians that requires no explanation back home. But when Mrs. Pandit votes with them, as she often will, that will hurt us. Why doesn't the U.S. delegation send somebody around to explain its insistence on Mrs. Pandit? It looks a little stupid to us."

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