U.S. SENATE EXPECTED TO APPROVE ATLANTIC PACT DRAFT WITH TEETH RESTORED

Grey River Argus, 26 February 1949, Page 5

U.S. SENATE EXPECTED TO APPROVE ATLANTIC PACT DRAFT WITH TEETH RESTORED

(Rec. 10.55) NEW YORK, February 25. The use of armed aid has been restored to the draft of the proposed North Atlantic Pact, according to the New York Times correspondent at Washington, Mr James Reston.

The tense of the disputed article now is “that, in the event of armed attack on one of them, the signatories would assist each other in such ways —also, if necessary with armed force —as 'would seem desirable to defend the North Atlantic area.” Air Reston says: The new draft is not as direct as was the former version, which would have obliged the signatories to “take military or other action forthwith” in the event of an armed attack against one of tlie pact members; but it does restore the reference to armed force which was recently eliminated at the suggestion of Senators Tom Connally (Democrat) and Arthur Vandenberg (Republican). The U.S. Secretary of State, Air Dean Acheson, will consult the Ambassadors of Britain, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg to-mor-row on the new version of the draft, and will submit it to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next week, when approval is likely.

Atlantic Pact is Favoured by Norway’s Cabinet OSLO, February 24. The Norwegian Government believed that it should take part in the North Atlantic Pact discussions, and do sufficiently early to be able to present its views on how such a treatyshould be formed, said the Foreign Minister, Dr Halvard Lange, in Parliament to-day. He added that it would be for Parliament to ratify the treaty if and when the Government made a final decision on the pact. The Norwegian answer to the Russian offer of a nonaggression treaty would be submitted as soon as Parliament during the next week had been able to formulate its attitude towards the questions raised in the Russian offer. Dr Lange said his talks in Washington had strengthened his Government’s conviction that the Atlantic Pact had no offensive front against anyone. He was assured that there would be no request in peace-time for joint bases for countries adhering to the pact. He had reason to believe that, from the security point of view, the participating countries would be united as closely as was consistent with the political and constitutional conditions of the individual countries.