Harold's Balloon

In spite of vigorous denials, I understand that serious consideration has been given to the idea that the United States might barter the withdrawal of American troops from Germany against a Russian withdrawal from the satellite countries. Both the Western and Russian policies of the last few years have run their course. Both sides, it is felt here, are groping for new approaches.

So wrote the London Sunday Times's Henry Brandon from Washington last week--and he was by no means alone in his belief that the U.S. foreign policy was about to make a dramatic shift. The New York Times, along with a host of other newspapers, revealed that the U.S. had "agreed" on a new peacemaking effort involving negotiations not only toward a watered-down disarmament plan but also toward a considerable reduction in the opposing NATO-Warsaw Pact forces in Europe. Such stories misrepresented actual U.S. policy planning, but the newsmen could hardly be blamed. They were merely reflecting the not-for-attribution opinions of Presidential Disarmament Adviser Harold Stassen.

While Secretary of State Dulles and other U.S. representatives were still in Paris at the NATO meeting (TIME, Dec. 24) trying to persuade the Western allies to maintain NATO's military strength, Harold Stassen met in Washington with newsmen in a confidential briefing session. From that session came the rash of news stories that seemed doubly authoritative because Harold Stassen, in his anonymity, had masked himself as the voice of U.S. policy.

In saying that the U.S. hopes to open new avenues toward disarmament, Stassen was no more than restating the long-obvious fact that the Eisenhower Admin istration will not cease its disarmament efforts--with realistic safeguards--so long as any possibility of success exists. But in leading his listeners to think that the U.S. may be on the verge of bargaining away NATO's strength, or about to make a cynical deal with the Russians, Harold Stassen flew his trial balloon too high, forced Secretary Dulles to haul it down discreetly at his press conference.

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