Nothing of Value

For nearly six long months, Western delegates to the five-nation U.N. Disarmament Subcommittee in London have been spicing the tedium of the negotiations by assuring each other--and the rest of the skeptical world--that at last the U.S.S.R. was displaying a serious interest in disarmament. They thus unwittingly became in effect guarantors of Russian good faith. Last week, in a 7,500 word blast of vituperation, Russia's Valerian Zorin relieved them of this obligation.

Speaking in the hush that followed Russia's triumphant boast of having successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (see NATIONAL AFFAIRS), the normally amiable Zorin did a job of stonewalling worthy of Vyacheslav Molotov. "The statesmen of the U.S. and NATO," rasped Zorin, "openly proclaim that they are preparing for atomic war against the peaceloving states." He denounced America's open-skies proposals as a device for the "collection of intelligence information," accused the West of refusing to heed the opinion of nations like India, flatly declared that "in actual fact, these talks are making no progress at all."

Bland Murmurs. Out of this farrago of propaganda emerged two clear facts: 1) Russia has no intention of suspending production of fissionable material for weapons--which is one of the prime conditions the U.S. has attached to any suspension of H-bomb tests; 2) Russia feels no urgency about concluding any disarmament agreement at all. U.S. Delegate Harold E. Stassen went on as if little had happened. Murmuring blandly that he had known the Russians to do an about-face before, Stassen went on to unwrap for the first time the entire disarmament package proposed by the U.S., Britain, France and Canada. Anticlimactically, the contents proved to consist almost entirely of old familiars--reduction of conventional forces, suspension of nuclear tests, open skies, a ground inspection system.

"I Will Meet." For 2 1/2 hours Zorin sat with folded hands, as the Western delegates sang the merits of these proposals. Then, signaling to the chairman, Zorin rose and said: "This paper cannot be considered as offering anything of genuine value." Bluntly, France's Jules Moch asked the logical question: "Is there any point to our meeting next Tuesday?" Zorin hesitated, finally snapped, "The only statement I will make is that I will meet."

At week's end, on his way home to Washington to consult with President Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles, Optimist Stassen cheerfully assured newsmen that, despite Russian intransigence, the disarmament negotiators "actually are closer together now than at any time in the past twelve years." Considering how far apart they have been for the past twelve years, this was indeed an exercise in negative optimism.

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