Eyes on the target

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Eyes on the target
Language: English
Year: 1949
Rights
Fulltext: Editorials “ .. . to promote the general welfare” Ambassador Myron M. Cowen The American Chamber of Commerce sent the following radiogram to the Hon. Myron M. Cowen after his recent appointment as American Ambassador to the Phil ippines and received a letter from him in reply, which follow in order: “Permit us on behalf of the American business community to congratulate you on your appointment as American Ambas-' sador to the Philippines. We hope you will shortly permit us to hold a dinner-reception in your honor at whatever time may be convenient to you after your arrival in the Philippines.’’ The letter: “American Embassy Canberra, Australia “Dear Mr. Stevens: “I deeply appreciate your gracious cable welcoming me to the Philippines. It will probably be a matter of some days before we can make definite plans for our departure from here, and it is not yet entirely certain whether we shall go directly to Manila from here or first go to Washington for a hurried visit. “Just as soon as our plans are definite, however, I shall let you know, and I shall look forward to meeting you and your members with much anticipation. “Cordially, (Sgd.) Myron* M. Cowen American Ambassador" Readers will be interested in an article by Mr. Cowen in this issue of the Journal on the pro blems of the economic development of the Far East, sent us by the United States Information Service, Manila, some time before his appointment as Ambas sador to the Philippines. It is the text of an address which he made last December as head of the Ameri can delegation to the fourth conference of the ECAFE and is indicative of the new Ambassador’s thinking on the subject. The Tokyo press reports, following the depar ture from Japan of Secretary of the Army Kenneth Royall, which stated that the United Eyes States would abandon Japan in case of on the war and which suggested that it would Target soon withdraw its occupation forces there, have been officially denied. It is well that this denial has been elicited, for any policy framed so baldly, would find little sup port anywhere. The denial has not, however, served to dispel the implication that there has been a revi sion of American global strategy toward still greater concentration on Europe. Although this has resulted in general concern, not to say alarm, in this part of the world, has led to bit ter reflections and even recriminations in the press, and has, to an extent, been damaging to American prestige, second thought may tend to modify the first reaction. For if what has been implied is a fact, what could it mean other than that the United States, to use an expression taken from the field of sport, is determined to keep its eyes on the ball? America’s present self-elected antagonist is Sta lin’s Russia, and we must not blind ourselves, what ever our local interest, to both America’s and Russia’s respective advantages and disadvantages, strategically and tactically, in the Pacific and Far Eastern areas. The Russian subversionists have undoubtedly hoped that the unrest being created in various parts of Asia and the recent advance of the Chinese “Reds” would greatly disturb America and serve to distract American attention from Europe, where, then, they would be less deterred in their spreading of havoc. But it now appears that America will not allow itself to be distracted and is keeping its eyes on the target, — the Russian power-house in Europe. Russia may be allowed some evil success in its villainies in Asia without a resulting destruction of the whole of civilization, but if the Stalinite despotism were to engulf all of Europe, still, outside of the 95 United States, the cultural and industrial center of the world, that would be a loss from which civiliza tion possibly could never recover. The protection of Europe need not mean that Jap an and the great island defense ring around the Pa cific will be left wholly undefended or abandoned, but Japan lies too far from the center of Russia and too close to the Russian air-bases in Siberia to be con verted into a primary staging area for a possible at tack on the Kremlin world-destroyers. The natural direction for an American attack is not from Japan nor from or over Alaska, but across the North Atlantic, Greenland, and Iceland. As for the Siberian bases, with our present long-range bombers, no near-by base, such as Japan, is necessary to ren der them vulnerable. Attacks on Russia in Asia from Japan, other parts of the Far East (especially Guam and Okinawa), and from Alaska, would be secondary in importance, but that is, of course, not to say that such points should be or would be entirely neglected. Our belief is that the Moscow plotters of democ racy’s downfall will not at all have like the reports which came out of Tokyo nor the implications to which, even though the reports were denied, they- have given rise. They serve as another and very stern war ning of deadly intent: We would attack the center along the shortest, most direct route. AFTER the foregoing editorial was written, the of ficial denials referred to resulted in the disclosure by Tokyo correspondents that the reports were based on statements made by Secretary Royall in a press in terview given just before he left Japan. Certain of the Secretary’s statements were now directly quoted, and one of them was: “I am not certain that we could hold Japan, nor am I certain that it would be worth while as long as we have Okinawa and the Philippines which are relatively safer and from which we would be able to mount strategic air-attacks' without [the necessity of] undertaking the task of feeding 80,000,000 civilians.’” This led the Manila Times to ask: “We don’t know much about Okinawa. But as far as the Philippines is concerned, if it is Mr. Royall’s design to use the Philippines as an attack-base, what are his plans for the defense of this attack-base? “Does he contemplate using a tiny portion of the Philip pines, the Clark Field-Stotsenburg area, as the launching site of an air-offensive against a possible foe on the Asian land mass? “Does he realize that this alone will expose the whole Philippines to counter-attack?” The Times pointed out in conclusion: “Large as the question of the defensibility of Japan may loom in the overall picture, the question of the defense of the Philippines looms larger here.” There can be no question that as long as the United States maintains military bases in the Philip pines as it has a treaty-right to do, it is committed to the defense of the Philippines. In this connection we ask for enlightenment on something that has long puzzled us. Why are1 the Philippine Scouts being disbanded? Certainly this would seem to be most untimely in view of world conditions; also most unwise, both from the political and military viewpoints, so long as the United States maintains military bases here. One of the most remarkable events in all his tory is the re-establishment after two Meaning of millennia of the Jewish nation, signalthe Re-born ized in Jerusalem last month by the Israel. swearing in of Dr. Chaim Weizmann as the first President of Israel. This inauguration was followed a week later by the signing of an armistice with Egypt, negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations, to date one of its most notable achievements. With six other Arab nations joining the movement for peace, armed Arab opposition, which should never have developed,1* to the Israel resurgence, has been brought to a vir tual end. * See editional in the November, 1947, Journal. This is the realization not only of the Zionist movement, which had its inception around a hundred years ago though it hardly got under way until the years just preceding the first World War, but of the dream to which the Jewish people have clung with unshakeable loyalty and faith during the whole of the eighteen centuries of dispersion which followed the destruction of their Temple in Jerusalem by the Ro mans. It is a fine thing that two Christian nations have led in the advocacy of the re-establishment of the Jewish Homeland, — England and America. Among the great proponents of the policy were Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, Arthur James Balfour, Jan Smuts, Lord Milner, Henry Cabot Lodge, Lord Robert Cecil, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman. The persecution of the Jews in Poland gave Zion ism its first impetus, but the hideous mass murders of the Jews in Germany under Hitler served in large part to give the movement its final strength after the second World War. The Jewish determination was not to be broken even by the dualism which developed in the British attitude, beginning with the Chamberlain appease ment policy toward Hitler and Mussolini, who were stirring up the Arabs, and carried on even after the war by certain British civil servants. The return to Palestine has been a largely spiri tual, idealistic, and democratic enterprise. It was the Jews who gave modern civilization the basic concepts of its religion. It may well be that the Jews will now set the world a new example of an ethical modern national and social life. At any rate, their form of colonization on a collectivist basis, constituting a vir tual revolution through cooperation and construction under the ideal of highly dedicated labor, will serve as a valuable foil to the capitalistic democracy of the United States and the socialism of England, — not to mention the “communism” of Russia. Though the storm of charges and counter-charges in the Philippines Senate broke so tardily that it appears to have been precipitated chief - Corruption ly by clashing presidential ambitions, in the the exposure of the rank corruption in Government high government circles is all to the good. The present conflict may not be one in which (as yet) all the forces of righteousness are on the one side and all the forces of evil on the other, and still it is all to the good. If they could not be otherwise exposed, it is well that the crooks fell out among themselves arid now in some instances expose each other. The corruption has long been a more or less open secret, and it is healthy to have it opened to the full view, just as it is salutary that a suppurating abcess breaks even without the use of a knife. The rest is up to the people, and to the Govern ment in so far as it remains honest. 97