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WeakKneed and Fatalistic Policies of Drift Time to Assert Our Rights, interests and Moral Preferences It is not only permissible but almost obligatory to assail British conUntil the end of the European phase duct in Greece and Italy, French conduct in the Near East, American conof the war, those of us Alto ventured But to expose the to mention the seamier side of Soviet duct anywhere. ugly facts of Soviet terror in Poland, life and policy were quickly subdued Yugoslavia, and Rumania, Bulgaria, with a standardised set of rebukes Austria is denounced as a provocaWe were accused of divisive tude in "attacking a heroic ally" and tion to war with Russia! "So you want us to go to war with of "giving aid and comfort to Hitler." Russia?" This formula has become as Why the identical rebukes did not hold good for criticism of Britain and commonplace and as effective in the United States ;not to mention less- squelching honest analysis and discus er allies like Poland/ was never made sion of Russian postwar policies, as clear to us. There were dual rules the previous formula about "giving aid of allied etiquette, and that's all. The and comfort to Hitler." Its protagonists inveigh against "anti. mystery was deepened by the fact that the very people so alarmed by any Soviet propaganda," by which they strictures on Russian behavOur were mean any word of compassion for the victims of Red terror in the liberated themselves the most vigorous in lambasting British and American policies, areas now held by the Red Army. Presumably Herr Hitler, whose heart They are badly frightened by a "whir was gladdened by American attacks on pering campaign" intended to make us Russia, was plunged into sorrow by "suspicious and nervous" about Rusequivalent attacks on Churchill and sian intentions. It does not occur to them that Russian actions, rather than our State Department. Under the hush-hush on Russia was the "whispers" about them, account for the grotesque assumption that Stalin, the nervousness and growing susNeither do they realise the supersensitive, might withdraw picions. from the war, might even join the that there would be no need for whispering in a delmocracY ;where free Nazis, if the Allies '(God forbid! ceased pretending that he was a demo- speech is guaranteed if the discussion crat devoted to the 'Atlantic Charter. of Russian affairs were natural and The theory was that unless Stalin re- uninhibited as, let us say, the discus. ceived the daily helping of editorial sion of British or Patagonian affair:. The spectre of a Russian war will be 'mush and soft soap, he would refuse to used increasingly as a club over our play. Only war hysteria could give such heads to silence. honest discussion of It will be used increasingly stupid assumptions the appearance of Russia. Russia fought to head off a firm policy line in Eu. journalesque wisdom. to save her skin. There was, if any- rope and in Asia where Soviet ambithing, less chance of her withdrawing tions or pretensions collide with Allied from the conflict than of our doing so. interests and moral susceptibilities. It After all, the decisive destruction of is therefore of the greatest importance German power in Europe was of more to examine and to exorcise this direct concern to Russia than to the t re without delay, Their jittery misgivings in the fat..? Nothing United States or Britain. 'said or left unsaid here could have the of "whispering campaigns" and criticremotest effect on the Kreml.in's line ism of Stalin by "irresponsibles" therefore reflect a fear that Russia will take of action, which was plotted in clearheaded relation to the realities of So- the initiative and attack the United jet interests and British -American States or Britain, with or without a declarationf of war, if we fail to accede power. Though Germany has been finished uncritically to every Soviet demand or unilateral decision. off, the Allies' hush-hush obsession on This attitude is both humiliating The reRussia has not been cured, and defeatist. It impugns the good and bukes have merely been revised are in the process of being standard- sense, even the sanity, of the Russian By
EUGENE LYONS, in "The Sign."
ised.
rather than public men in the richest, strongest, most unified nations on earth. One would suppose, moreover that we were sinners with an uneesy conscience in the domain of international affairs. But after, all have we sealed off, hermetically, any portion of the liberated territory and kept our allies Have we from seeing what we do? annexted areas belonging to respected allies? Have we taken machinery end other property (including property belonging to our allies) from liberated countries into our own? Have we killed, imprisoned, and exiled thousands of men and women in liberated Europe merely 'because they are opposed to American political ideas? Have we deported hundreds of thousands of people from Poland, Rumania, and other countries for forced labour in our own country, without the consent of our allies and before the reparation; problem had been solved? Yet these are some of the injustices perpetrated by Stalin. The eusiou.z, almost pathological ,inferiority comleaders by assuming that they will re- plex under which some people et al. sort to war should the Anglo-Saxon labour simply has no justification in powers take a principled and cour- fact. come to the conference ageous stand on any issue. It halls of We diplomacy with clean hands, ignores the obvious fact that Russia seeking nothing for ourselves. There needs a long period of peace to repair is no excuse for whispering-iwhatever the ravages of this war and consoli we need to say can be said aloud, for date its vast new empire. For Mos- all the world to hear. The first essencow to provoke a new conflict would tial for normal, healthy relations bebe frivolous and possibly suicidal. tween the United States, 'Britain, and The hush-hush alarmists may relax Soviet Russia is a dignified, self-reStalin made supreme efforts to stay specting approach so the postwar proout of the present struggle. He ap- blems. peased Hitler to the limit. He finalWe must begin as sensible people, ly joined the fight only becau..e the Germans invaded his country. Until by taking it for granted that neither the Russians nor ourselves want to the last moment he was neutral in the get into a war. If they ever do not Far East, When he finally jumped in, it was because Japan was- already 'withstanding, it will be against then. will and because events have been a: groggy and clearly doomed. To suppose, in the light of this, re- lowed to drift into a blind alley from cord, that he would willingly take on which there was no egress except be America and Britain for a finish fight violence. The real question, therefore, is -just after his country has '.Pen devastated and white-is to credit the whether we are folowing a dangerous policy of drift adopting a lweakin Russian dictator with a bellicosity that defies common sense. For a long kneed, fatalistic attitude toward the. time we may be quite sure that Rus- notion that Russia is "destined" to rule all of Europe and Asia. The sia will not go to war with us. real question, to put it another way, is The gentry who want us to swallow every Stalinist indignity will not even whether be evading a showdown on grant us the privilege of burping. Any problems from day to day we are not sound of complaint, they warn, will making inevitable a cumulative show"offend" Russia and presto! we'll he down on, fund4mental issues at some at war They behave for all the world future time. as if the United States and Britain, In effect we are face to face with in the hour of their military triumph the _old, bantered, but inescapable diland economic supremacy, have been re- emma of appeasement. A little firmduced to third-rate Powers. To hear ness toward Nazi Germane at an earthem warn us in tremulous voices lier stage-at the time the Reichswehr against "provoking" Stalin, against marched into the Rhineland, let us arousing his suspicions, one would sup- say-might have obviated the need fir pose they were citizens of Panama or (Continued on Page 9.) AbYssinia,
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