No Whole, No Parts

In grabbing what she wants in areas under her control, Russia operates on the principle that possession is 9.99 points of the law. In the unique matter of the atomic bomb, the U.S. and not Russia is in possession. Yet last week Russia, afraid of any infringement of her sovereignty by any semblance of world government, turned down a U.S. offer for international atomic control.

Russia's Andrei Gromyko said flatly to the U.N.'s Atomic Energy Commission: "The United States proposals in their present form cannot be accepted in any way by the Soviet Union, either as a whole or in separate parts." Gromyko explained that Russia wants a treaty by which the signatory nations would agree not to produce or use atomic bombs. Within three months of signing, all nations manufacturing atomic explosives (i.e., the U.S.) would cease & desist and destroy their stockpiles. Within six months each nation would enact laws severely punishing treaty violations which might occur within its own borders.

This last was pure fantasy. The picture conjured up was one of atomic bootleggers, operating like Kentucky moonshiners, against which the Government would send "rev'nooers" to stop their malefactions.

The danger lay not with private criminals but with the Governments themselves. In Gromyko's statement lay the clear and chilling implication that Russia would not submit to international inspection of its factories as an essential part of atomic control.

When it took this position, Moscow risked alienating the very large segment of world opinion which sees in the atomic bomb the ultimate argument against unlimited national sovereignty. Apparently, the Kremlin figured that its complete freedom of action was more important than its reputation.

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