(2 of 3)
Many letters written you regarding the Hungarian uprising have accused America of "big talk" but little action. Although America may seem to be showing cowardice, the incident in Hungary is, among other things, bait for the Western powers. If we fall' for this bait by acting without considering the effect of our actions on the national security, we shall be "crushed," as Khrushchev so wildly declaimed. Who, then, would the Hungarians and other oppressed turn to for refuge?
MARY ALICE BUCHHOLZ
Seattle
Turmoil in the Middle East
Sir:
The words spoken by a British paratroop colonel citing the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt as "a bloody good exercise" and expressing his part in it as "a lot of fun and very interesting" might well have been spoken by a Russian colonel citing the crushing of Hungary and expressing his part in the slaughter of the Hungarian people.
SP/2 PAUL S. FORD
U.S. Army
c/o Postmaster
San Francisco
Sir:
It ill behooves TIME to criticize Sir Anthony Eden. Regardless of what Ottawa says, the majority of Canadian citizens were heartily in agreement with the British and French stand. The U.S.A., as usual, won't wake up until it is almost too late.
G. RAE
Vancouver, B.C.
Sir:
The great majority of the British people are fundamentally decent, law-abiding and peace-loving people, whose greatest faith and hope lie in an effective U.N. and an enduring Anglo-American alliance. Do not lose faith in these people because of the criminal actions of the Eden government.
F.E. LAMOND
London
The U.N. Role
Sir:
Perhaps now that the U.N. has shown how ineffectual it really is in a crisis, people will stop thinking of it in terms of a Congress or a Parliament on a grander scale. As a means of exchanging ideas and ideals, it is a fine organization, but it would be far better if it were physically located in the Soviet Union, where a free exchange of this type would be a novel experience for the population. As an arbiter in maintaining law and order, the U.N. is a howling bust. Moral indignation has saved few people from a firing squad.
JOHN A. TIMOUR
Washington, B.C.
Sir:
So far, the U.N. has been able to fulfill basic world needs, and by its very survival and growth has proven itself vital. What more proof of this do we need than the formation of a flesh-and-blood U.N. police force in reaction to this very invasion of Egypt?
JOHN SIMONS JR.
Los Angeles
Sir:
Let Hammarskjold do something positive in Hungary, where the U.S.A., hiding behind the U.N., is too scared to interfere.
M. MULLER
Basel, Switzerland
The U.S. Role
Sir:
If, in the last four years, the President had made a series of "crisp, rippling decisions" about anything but the color of his ties, or had "moved surefootedly" to anywhere but the nearest golf course, the U.S. would not now be forced to "patch and clean up the Western Alliance."
MRS. SUSAN ROSENBERG
Orleans, France
Sir:
Why don't you birds wise up that U.S. State Department policy on Red Egypt now is just about as cockeyed as Britain's policy on Red China used to be?
WERNER FUCHS
Cologne, Germany