U.S. POLICY DEFENDED

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26397, 16 April 1951, Page 7

U.S. POLICY DEFENDED

Mr Truman Hits At Critics

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April 14. Mr Truman to-night denied any plan to appease Communism, and hotly accused his critics of spreading “political hokum” while the nation was in deadly danger.

In a speech to Democrats at a Jef-ferson-Jackson Day dinner, Mr Truman said that foes of his foreign policy were sowing confusion, because “they think if the country is confused enough they may be able to win the next election.” The President lashed out at critics in Congress and elsewhere who had been assailing his foreign policy for months and who mostly supported General MacArthur as against the Administration.

Dealing with the Administration’s Korean policy, the President said: “The purpose in Korea is to stop the world war that would result if Communist aggression were to go unchecked. Our purpose is to restore peace.

“If the Communist leaders have learned the lesson that aggression will not be tolerated by the free nations of the world, it should be possible to reach a peaceful settlement in Korea, but it must be settled on a basis that will protect the objectives for which the United Nations is fighting. “Can Be No Compromise”

"To reach such a settlement, the Soviet and Chinese Communist leaders must abandon their aggression. On that point there can be no compromise. We will not engage in appeasement We will make no deals that would reward aggression.

“Let there be no mistake in the Kremlin. We want peace—in Korea and in the rest of the world, but we will not give in to aggression. We know appeasement does not lead to peace, but leads to war. Our efforts to prevent war must be founded upon the preservation of freedom and justice.”

Mr Truman said that the people who declared that the United States should get out of Korea were making a terrible mistake. “They think we could stop the fight if we sot out of Korea. That is not true. If we got out of Korea the Communist leaders would strike somewhere else. *

“They would strike at Japan, or the Middle East, or in Europe, and sooner or later they would go on to strike at South America and at our own country. “We do not have the choice between fighting in Korea or not fighting at all. Our choice lies between fighting in Korea or fighting somewhere else, probably somewhere closer to home. Effects of Korean War “Our struggle against aggression in Korea has had profound effects. First, it is preventing our Communist enemy from carrying out his plans. By fighting in Korea we have kept the rulers of the Kremlin from conquering other countries on their list. “Second, it has given the free world warning time to begin building up its own defence. Our struggle has made it clear not only here but abroad that the free world must prepare to defend Itself. “Third, our firm stand in Korea has olaced a great strain on the whole system of dictatorship. Dictatorships cannot survive continued reverses. Cracks are already beginning to appear in the structure of international Communism." “Machine for War” Mr Truman declared that the rulers of the Kremlin were welding the people and the resources under their control into a mighty machine for war and conquest. “They think they can divide the democratic nations and overthrow them one by one. If they can do that they will succeed in isolating, and surrounding, the United States.” Tremendous strides -were being made in building up defences and he mentioned the leadership of a great American. General Eisenhower, in developing the Atlantic Pact Army. He insisted that United States foreign policy was truly bipartisan, but said: “We have heard too much political hokum attacking bipartisan foreign policy.” The people who are making these attacks cannot agree on foreign policy of their own. They are just against the foreign policy this country is following. “They are not trying to help this country find its way in these troubled times. They are just trying to confuse us.” Difficulties Faced Reciting some of the difficulties he encountered with members of Congres. particularly Republicans, the President said: "They say they want a powerful defence system, second to none, but they are against universal military training. “They say they want other free nations to resist aggression, but they don’t want the United States to send any troops to help. “They want us to get out of Korea but they urge us to wage aggressive war against China. They say it will provoke Russia to an attack if we send troops to Europe, but they are sure Russia won't come in if we carry the war to China.

“They say they want to crush Communism, yet they want us to draw back into our shell and let the rest of the world be overrun by the Reds. They say they are worried because the Russians outnumber us, yet they are not interested in keeping Allies who can help us.

“The long and the short of it is that they want defences without spending money; they want us to wage war without an army; they want us to have victory without taking any risks; they want us to try to run the whole world and to run it without any friends. “We cannot afford to be diverted and upset by the political attacks.” The Vice-President (Mr Alben Barkley), who also spoke, referred obliquely to the General MacArthur issue. He said: "The world struggle to protect freedom cannot be resolved by mere controversies that rage round heroic names. It cannot be resolved

by political field-marshals sitting in Washington, wearing no uniform but a black tie. , .

“It cannot be resolved by exploitation of the winds that blow round controversial figures who come and go, and play their part across the stage of human tragedy and human hopes.”