The Odds on Peace

The course of U.S. foreign relations was somewhat erratic last week. It was hopelessly inept and confused on the problem of Palestine. But, by & large, the nation kept its eyes pretty well fixed on the main goal, which was peace, not war--but readiness for war.

U.S. policy had stiffened in Germany. Washington postponed the plan to transfer control of the U.S. zone from Army officers to the State Department. Two days later Washington made it clear that the U.S. intended to stay in Berlin, despite Soviet sabotage of the Allied Control Council and Soviet efforts to shoulder the U.S. out the door.

Policymakers circled April 18, the date of the Italian elections, on their calendars and watched as Italians prepared to go to the polls. In the U.S. hand were other political cards like the ace on Trieste. The cards were not revealed but they could be: a proposal to admit Italy to the United Nations, even into Western Union; an offer to let Italy sit in on discussions of the economic future of Germany.

In the same week the U.S. looked to its military power. Defense Secretary James Forrestal urged one of the biggest defense budgets the U.S. has ever had in peacetime. Despots, he warned, move only when they detect weakness in their neighbors. Hitler had once said: "Our enemies are little worms--I saw them in Munich." There was a parallel in the situation today. "But the odds are not yet on Russia or war," said Forrestal, "the odds are still on the U.S. and peace. . . . For once in world history an aggressor will be forewarned of our determination backed up by our strength."

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