Soviet Diplomacy: A Challenge to Freedom

Abstract

Because of the nature of modern weapons, rela tions between the West and Russia will determine man's life in the future. All facets of Russian society are at the disposal of her diplomacy while US foreign policy is dependent on Con gress, the people, and group interests. Stalin held war inevi table ; his successors have adopted a policy of co-existence, however, the goal of both is world domination. Soviet diplo macy has sought to weaken the Western position; there have been several maneuvers, the latest being the German crisis. By focusing attention on Berlin, the Soviets have tried to di vert attention from German unification and European security. The US is ready to negotiate disarmament agreements, but traditional Russian mistrust of foreigners will not permit full inspection. The ultimate aim of Soviet economic aid to less- developed countries is penetration and subversion. The most important weapons of Soviet diplomacy are psychological war fare and propaganda. However, our information program, based as it is on truth, is an equally strong weapon. We should not be discouraged by Soviet rigidity and inflexibility in our search for negotiation since there have been some suc cesses, for example, agreement was reached on the Austrian State Treaty. If the West maintains itself strong militarily, adheres to the principles of the UN Charter, tries to prevent Communist subversion in less-developed lands, and actively demonstrates its values, the way of life of free people will endure.—Ed.