President Truman Urges Immediate Action On His Military Aid Programme

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27166, 23 August 1949, Page 5

President Truman Urges Immediate Action On His Military Aid Programme

NZPA—Copyright Rec. 9 p.m. NEW YORK, Aug. 22. President Truman to-day warned that European economic recovery would lag if “ the haunting fear of military aggression is widespread.” In a speech before the Jubilee Convention the Veterans of Foreign Wars, at Miami, he appealed to Congress for speedy action on his programme of military assistance for North Atlantic and other Powers.

He said the military assistance programme was essential both for the preservation of international order and peace and for economic recovery. The military assistance programme and the European recovery programme were part and pai'cel of the same policy. There was the closest relationship between economic recovery and military defence. “On -the one hand, economic recovery will lag if the haunting fear of military aggression is widespread,’’ Mr Truman said. “ Such a fear will prevent new investments from being made and new industries from being established. On the other hand, if protection against aggression is assured, economic recovery will move forward more rapidly. Sound economic recovery and adequate military defence must be carried forward together in balance. That is exactly what we propose to do. Great progress has been made in the economic recovery in Europe; the production of the western nations of Europe has been rising steadily. " To continue the momentum of this economic advance, it is necessary now to remove the obstacles created by fear of military aggression. We should, therfore, undertake a programme of military assistance without delay. We must face the fact that we have forever put behind us the false security of isolationism. We have done so because we have learned —learned the hard way—that in the world to-day isolationism is a futile, vulnerable shield. We have learned that the defence of the United States and the defence of the other freedomloving nations are indivisible. We have learned we can serve our country best by joining in the common defence of the rights of all mankind.” Mr Truman described the- purpose of th.e military assistance programme as being the same as that of the North Atlantic Treaty—“ to prevent aggression." He said: “ Our European partners in the North Atlantic Treaty are not strong enough to-day to defend themselves effectively. Since the end of the war they have been concentrating on rebuilding their wartorn economies. We can strengthen them and ourselves by transferring some military means to them and by joining with them in a common defence plan. “We are not arming ourselves and our friends to start a fight with anybody. We are building defences so we will not have to fight. Our aid will be limited to the material neces-

sary to equip mobile defence forces. These forces will constitute no threat to (he independence of other nations. Democratic nations have no desire for aggression; they only want to be able to defend their homes.” Colonel James Windsor Lewis. British military attache, told the convention that Britain was more than pulling her weight in the defensive problems of the anti-Communist world. Defence services and the industries supporting them had absorbed one-sixteenth of Britain’s total working population, which was the maximum that could be afforded without prejudicing her efforts towards eco-, nomic recovery. Major Roger le Guay. French assistant military attache, said France had over 1,000,000 men who could be sent into battle without further training. Her reserve of manpower was increasing each year by 250,000 men