The Truce of the Bear

When he stands up like a tired man, tottering near and near;

When he stands up as pleading, in wavering, man-brute guise,

When he veils the hate and cunning of his little swinish eyes;

When he shows as seeking quarter, with paws like hands in prayer,

That is the time of peril--the time of the Truce of the Bear!

Some of Rudyard Kipling's mood overtook U.S. military men as they warily watched the steel-shod paws of Communism outstretched. Harry Truman warned: "We cannot yet be sure ... It is still too early to say what they have in mind." In Korea, General Van Fleet kept his men in sharp contact with the enemy; the Navy and Air Force ordered fresh reinforcements to the Far East. U.S. military men agreed that the negotiations would probably be a matter of weeks.

But U.S. officials thought they had detected a new shift in the treacherous winds from the Kremlin. Droves of polite Russian diplomats suddenly turned up at U.S. embassies all over the world to attend Fourth of July celebrations. They dropped hints that now might be a good time for five-power talks to reach a worldwide settlement. The fifth power would, of course, be Red China.

Such soft talk showed that the Communists might really want peace in Korea--if the price is right. For the future, it inspired as many misgivings as hopes. The Kremlin's fixed tactics are to slash weakness with armor, to sap strength with wiles. Out of the MacArthur hearing, the Kremlin learned that the end of U.S. patience was near. The Kremlin's obvious advantage is to unwind U.S. determination, take the urgency out of the West's rearmament. So the Kremlin whispered tantalizingly of peace. That is the time of peril--the time of the Truce of the Bear!

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.