United States And Western Union

Chronicle (Levin), 21 October 1948, Page 7

United States And Western Union

Received Wednesday, 7.20 p.m. WARRINGTON, Oct. 20. The United States will almost certainly allv herself formally with the nations of the Western Union and Canada in • 1949, im.a treaty modellecl closely on the inter-American Defence Pact, according to reliable information here. Tiie iinal decision rests wit.li Congress but 011 the basis of top secret discussions between the State and Defence Departments and negotiations which have been proceeding for solne months with Ambassadors of the Western Union Powers here, it is expected, 111 informed quarters, that, iirstly, Congress will be asked to approve United States membership in sucli an allianee when it meets again in 1949} secondly, such allianee would not automaticaliy draw the United States into war in defence of any member who was attacked, but would require her to consult with the others on ' ' appropriate measures"; thirdly, the allianee would provide an overall structure oi an ' ' Atlantic pact" inside which a closer knit Western Defence Union and United States military aid programme to Europe would operate; fourthly, a body separate from the Western Union Defence Council would be formed, which would provide a forum for joint planuing and consultation. It would represent the extension of the present Anglo-American-Canadian combined Chiefs of Staff and would almost cert.ainly develop into the main interAllied planning and liaison body in the event of war. » It is understood that the ambassadorial committee whicli has been working secretly in Washington for months, has produced several draft plans but the above points represent those most likely to remain. The completion of the plan depends on the Western Union 's own decisions on defence planning and budgeting, on the United States Presidential elections and on the coordination of the plan with the budgetary and legislative policy of the new American Administration jgrobably led by Mr. Dewey.