Fostering Friendship

Reflecting on the activities of our Secretary of State last week, one can only conclude that Dulles has done it again. Not content with his "mass retaliation" blunder, he again stumbled, this time apparently after looking very carefully at the pit before him. Searching for peace, Dulles again has dropped a bomb, needlessly irritating a people whom we hope to secure as allies. By referring to Goa as a Portuguese province Dulles managed to enrage the Indians. And amazingly enough, after having aroused them for no good purpose, he still refuses, in his good old blunt way, to offer any conciliation.

Dulles' statement of Goa's relationship to Portugal was, of course, factually correct. Portugal has held sway in Goa for a long time. Goans are citizens of Portugal, etc. But what Mr. Dulles does not seem to realize is that the truth plainly stated does not constitute the whole of grace in diplomatic affairs. His specific reference to Goa as "a province" of Portugal may have been true, but it was not politic and not necessary.

A plea for peaceful settlement of this sensitive situation was perhaps needed, but it was not necessary to appear to take sides in the issue. As Dulles himself said, sticking up for Portugal in Goa is not a part of our NATO commitments. Certainly, making a joint statement with a Portuguese governor was in no way obligatory. Appearing as the joint policy of Portugal and the United States, the statement seems a calculated insult to the Indians.

Yet Dulles still maintains that his statement was carefully considered and "not lightly issued." He claims that his intent was to secure peaceful settlement of this tense problem. His statements in last Thursday's press conference, however, indicate that he was really more interested in accusing the Russians of stirring up "hatred and prejudice" than in actually creating "a spirit of calm." The emphasis in all his statements is on censuring the Russians for attempting to play upon Indian national pride. It would seem that if Dulles actually intended to create an atmosphere of peace, he would have left the Russians out of the case entirely.

Dulles, however, saw, or thought he saw, an opportunity to belabor the Russians for pricking the bubble of Geneva. This sort of tactic, of course, departs from the