NO SECURITY YET
It was, of course, part of General Eisenhower's duty as a soldier to place the, first emphasis on that major proportion of the task of defence that still remains to be done. He is in a better position than anyone to know just how difficult it is going to be to produce by the end of the year 50 division in-to use the Lisbon phrase—" an appropriate state of readiness." It was Also part of his duty as a soldier faced with the unique task of building up the biggest defensive force ever required in time of peace to draw attention once again to/the necessity for the Western Powers to avoid overstraining their material resources and plunging into that economic confusion that would probably be more pleasing to the Communists than a military collapse of the West in war. Whether it was part of his duty in any capa- city, except possibly as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States, to point out with some emphasis that the United States cannot " continue to be the primary source of munitions for the entire free world," and to draw attention to the need to maintain the soundness of the 'economic structure of the United States on the ground that its collapse would be " a world-shaking tragedy," is a rather different question. After all, General Eisenhower's position is that of Supreme Com- mander of the allied forces in Europe. His direct responsi- bility is neither to the United States alone nor to the world as a whole. But this tendency to overstatement on the political and economic side can no doubt be forgiven—particularly in view of His modest understatement on the military side. The success of S.H.A.P.E. is to such an extent the personal success of General Eisenhower himself that gratitude to this one than admits of no serious qualification.
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