U.S. Rejects Proposal For Preventive War

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27427, 13 August 1954, Page 11

U.S. Rejects Proposal For Preventive War

, WASHINGTON, Aug. 11. president Eisenhower today dis■*m*d as ridiculous, completely unghikable, and impossible the idea of a "preventive war” against the Commun1K Powers. Regarding the possibility of a general world war, Mr Eisenhower said •t his weekly press conference that if ,‘he free world built up intelligently a structure really impervious to Communist assault there would be no war. Mr Eisenhower also rejected recent suggestions in Congress that the united States should sever diplomatic Rations with the Soviet Union, and defended the United Nations Organisation aaainst criticisms by General ■Mark Clark, the former United States vmmnander in the Far East. A reporter directed the attention of ®e President to recent discussions in •ome United States newspapers of the Possibility of a preventive war gunehed against the Communist Powe** to forestall a biff«er world launched by the Communist Eisenhower defined a preventive as the waging of a quick police to avoid a terrific cataclysm . obstruction later, and said that such war was impossible toR* asked how could a war be preTjmtive if one of its features was cities lying in ruins. Ur r jater * when the President was asked ..Aether he was referring to a prevenin purely military terms, he JJ”ed that the term “preventive was by definition ridiculous in Were all sorts of reasons— P°”vcal. moral, and everything else this theory. It was so un"inurahlp that *** further on the subiect.

Relations with Soviet Yesterday, before a Congressional jJSnittee. General Mark Clark critithe United Nations and said that j„? u ght to be reorganised as a world against the Soviet Union and the United States to sever dioftJßatic relations with the Soviet v Mn. i~®onnenting on this, Mr Eisensaid that United States interOu *d not be served by cutting *7. uiplomatir relations with the Union He added that bis views directly opposed to General Eisenhower said the world must a forum of the kind of the ited Nations to discuss differences. ?“ Cognised that the United Nations 11(1 become a forum for propaganda,

a field in which the United States was less skilful than others. But, by and large, the world’s only hope was to improve this organisation, bringing it closer to the great thoughts which inspired it, said Mr Eisenhower. Reviewing the international situation. he said that a year ago there was fighting in Korea and Indo-China. a highly dangerous situation in Persia potential dangers in the Egyptian situation, and a growing threat from communism in Central America. These nroblems had not all been solved with complete satisfaction to the United States, but, he said, there was now a chance to do something constructive and to build up these countries by economic alliances and to raise their standards of living so that they could be true partners in a free world economy. The situation in Persia had been clearly ameliorated, and he was very hopeful that the new agreements on the future of Persian oil would soon increase the living standards of jhe peonle there. The situation in Egyot was immeasurably better and it looked as though the agreement on Suez would meet the reouirements of the free world and the sovereignty of Egypt would be clearly recognised. “Would Be No War” Mr Eisenhower said that all this added up to the fact that the free world now hnd a better chance than before to use its brains, its intelligence. its understanding and its wealth to build up a structure that would really be impervious to Communist assault, whether it took the usual form of subversion, infiltration, and briberv. or whether, in the long it might be by force. President said th»t if the free world did this intelligently and worked effectively towards that end. there would be no war. A correspondent asked Mr Eisenhower to comment on a recent statement bv Sir Winston Churchill to the effect that the development of the hvdrogen bomb and changes in the strategic position had made “thoughts which were well formed and well knit together a year ago utterly obsolete ’ Mr Eisenhower replied that it would be wrong to ignore the influence of the hvdrogen bomb nn our thinking. But ♦he world was living in a time of *noecsant change. Peonle shou 1 d not be too determined to prove that they right 12 or six months ago. For himself, he was trying to find an approach and a programme that was good for today and would provide a bit better solution for tomorrow. ;