DEFENCE OF EUROPE

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27090, 13 July 1953, Page 9

DEFENCE OF EUROPE

Warning On Relaxation

(Rec. 10 p.m.) PARIS, July 11. General M. B. Ridgway, the retiring Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, said today that with timely action, the Allied forces in Europe, could, within the reasonably near future, defend Western Europe against full-scale Soviet aggression; but he said that pride and achievement must not blind the Western countries to the magnitude of the task ahead nor hide their true military position. General Ridgway, who was speaking at a ceremony during which he handed over his command to General A. Gruenther, recalled that the Western nations had been built up from a state of almost complete defencelessness in 1950.

“Our efforts over the last two years could all be wasted and our sacrifices ridiculed were we to relax now. There are developing tendencies towards a relaxation of oui collective effort and towards a loss of military momentum within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Both these tendencies are in accord with Communist design and both serve Communist ends. Neither should be permitted so long as concrete proof of a change of Soviet basic objectives is lacking and the obvious disparity in military strengths continues.”

General Gruenther said the monolithic unity of the Soviet dictatorship appeared today to have serious cracks. “What this will mean to the nations of the West is not yet clear, but one thing is clear—never was there greater need among the N.A.T.O. nations for unity, for wisdom, and for perserverance. Never was there greater need to continue to , work together to build our defensive strength for peace.” “Must Deal With Reality” General Gruenther said he did not under-estimate the dangers that stalked the world today, but the Western nations, in patient co-opera-tion, could live through them. The Western nations, he said, must deal with reality. The recent East Getman riots showed that unrest in the Soviet Empire was a fact and they underscored a second fact —that even the enslaved could be driven to such despair that they would rise against their masters. A third fact was Mr Beria’s dismissal. “But it is not a fact to proclaim these events as a prelude to dissolution of the Soviet Empire. All the power and might of that ruthless machine are still intact and its menace remains undiminished. It will be well to remember that all too often war has been the desperate solution of a tyranny confronted by such internal conditions. Our organisation probably faces a difficult period ahead. We have, however, all the resources, spiritual and material, to achieve our objective, peace among men. Me must not falter now by hoarding these resources foolishly just as our modest strength is beginning to reap dividends.”