Who's in Charge?

The defense of Western Europe, like a rudderless ship, was tossing about last week on mounting waves of distrust.

The French, scared by Korea, finally agreed to a compromise proposed by Charles Spofford, U.S. representative to the North Atlantic Council of Deputies, which would permit the Germans to raise defense units of 4,000 to 5,000 men each, i.e., regimental combat teams, up to a total of 150,000. The Germans, however, treated this proposition with scorn, made it clear that they would settle for nothing less than division organizations, manned, staffed and commanded by Germans.

Snapped Social Democratic Leader Kurt Schumacher: "Absolutely impossible." Chancellor Konrad Adenauer had already declared: "America will get ... wholehearted cooperation . . . only when the German people no longer feel that they are a second-class power."

As a condition of rearmament, the Germans demanded an end of Western occupation and "equal partnership" in European defense. This meant that the Germans--again--had been put in a position where their legitimate desire for a means to defend themselves could be satisfied only if they played the dangerous game of working on the West's fear of Russia.

Tough talk from Germany was certain to increase French sentiment against German rearmament. The constructive way for France to resolve her fears would be to move ahead with a rapid French rearmament. But the French government showed no sign of doing that--and Washington made no move to hurry the French.

Washington believed that General Dwight Eisenhower was (at long last) about to be officially named head of Western European defense, that his chief of staff would be the Army's top planner, scholarly Lieut. General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther. Eisenhower's appointment was long overdue. A meeting of the twelve North Atlantic Treaty Foreign Ministers was scheduled for Brussels about Dec. 20, to seek agreement on German arming. This would give Secretary of State Dean Acheson a chance--if he wanted one--to prod the European governments into speed. So far, the Europeans who had been moaning that the U.S. was neglecting Europe for Asia seemed strangely inactive about their own defense in the little time that might be left to them.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.