In Washington a mixed lot of bouquets and brickbats showered down on Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, just home from a 19-day swing through Asia. President Eisenhower greeted the Secretary's return with a press conference pat on the back: "These trips, of course, are onerous burdens on an individual, but we have found them extremely worthwhile." The Netherlands Ambassador to the U.S. marked the occasion by announcing that his government was dismayed by the outspoken anti-colonialism of some of Dulles' public statements in Indonesia. In Congress, where the Administration's request for an expanded, long-term foreign aid program is under heavy fire, the general feeling was that Dulles had got back to the home office none too soon.
Dulles whirled through his first few days in Washington at high velocity. The morning after his arrival he appeared at the White House to tell the President and 28 congressional leaders what he had learned in Asia. He also testified before two congressional committees and "reported to the people" in a half-hour-long, nationwide television broadcast.
"The particular reason why I took this trip at this time," said Dulles, "was that the Council of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization was meeting in Pakistan . . .
We had a good meeting, which further developed the organization and gave it in creased stature. We feel confident that our combined strength and vigilance will safeguard the treaty area against open armed aggression." From SEATO's progress Dulles turned to a general discussion of Southeast Asia where, as he saw it. the U.S. was heavily outpointing the Communists in the cold war. "I found [Asian] leaders are quite aware of the danger of penetration by international Communism," said Dulles.
"Some take more effective precautions than others to avoid being caught. But none of these leaders is blind to this danger." By contrast, U.S. prestige was high among the newly independent Asian powers. "It is significant," said Dulles, "that the President of Indonesia, in his opening address to the Bandung conference, invoked the memory of Paul Revere and the principles of the American Revolution . . .
Our historical experience is an asset of priceless value in Asia."
What impressed Dulles most of all was the reliance on the U.S. expressed by Asians. Throughout this area, said he, "the leaders with whom I talked desire the U.S. to be strong, and that that strength should continue to be a sort of protective umbrella over other free nations." On the strength of this trip, said Dulles, he came home "more than ever convinced of the vital importance" of the U.S. mutual security and economic aid program, and of the need for the long-term mutual aid authority that President Eisenhower has requested of Congress.