488 FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1950, VOLUME 1

The Senator said that he was deeply concerned about the course of
events and about positions which he would be called upon to take and
would like to tell me some of his worries. He said that he would regard
our conversation as wholly confidential and would not repeat it or
mention me in any way.

The Senator spoke first about the course of events in the Far East.
He thought that the misfortunes of the campaign in Korea were
undermining our position in Japan, the Philippines and on the con-
tinent of Asia and asked whether it was not desirable and necessary
to have what he called a diversion in Asia. By this he meant fomenting
outbreaks against the Communists in China and possible use of the
Army on Formosa to make landings on the mainland. He spoke of a
meeting of the Armed Services Committee of the Senate which he had
been invited to attend at which General Chennault ? had talked about
the possibility of assisting dissension on the mainland... .

The Senator thought that efforts along this line were the most
productive open to us. He went on to mention his fears that the defense
of Western Europe was impossible and said that General Collins?
in answer to a question from the Senator along these lines at the last
meeting of the Committee had left the Senator with the impression
that the defense of Western Europe was possible only if everything
turned out exactly as we hoped, including efforts by our allies and
sufficient time being made available by the Russians. He thought that
it was unlikely that this combination of events would occur and was
therefore worried that we were wasting our strength.

The Senator thought that in the Middle West isolationism was grow-
ing. He stated that he did not agree with the isolationist point of
view and that he thought the people of the Middle West quickly lost
these views when trouble started. He said that the Middle West had
the highest record of voluntary enlistments of any section of the coun-
try during World Wars I and II.

I said to the Senator that in thinking about the matters which he
had propounded it seemed to me we must always keep in mind who
our principal antagonist was. This was the Soviet Union and not
China. Therefore it was important not only to increase our own mili-
tary strength but do everything possible so that we would have an area
from which our strength and that of others could be deployed in case of
necessity. This led to the importance of the British Isles, Western
Europe and certain areas in the Eastern Mediterranean. If we did not
make every effort to strengthen and hold these parts of the world, then
it seemed likely not only that we would have no platform from which

*Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault (ret.), Adviser to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-
Shek, President of the National Government of the Republic of China, 1937-1941 ;
Commanding General, Fourteenth Air Force, United States Army Air Forces,
1943-1945,

* General J. Lawton Collins, Chief of Staff, United States Army.