Cold War: How Nice Must We Be to Nikita?

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The U.S. and Britain are often accused, particularly in Bonn, of "running after Khrushchev." For a while last week it looked more as if Khrushchev were running after the West.

The Russian press duly blasted Kennedy's announcement that the U.S. will resume nuclear tests in the atmosphere (see THE NATION), and there were some local harassments in Berlin. But after a secret conference with East Germany's Walter Ulbricht, a Khrushchev communiqué omitted the standard polemics, contained only a mild mention of Berlin and West Germany as topics on the agenda. Meanwhile, Khrushchev kept trying to lure various heads of state to Geneva next week so that the 18-nation disarmament talks would, in his chummy phrase, "start in the right direction." No major power succumbed, but both the U.S. and Britain warmed slightly to the notion of a summit meeting, possibly in June, if preliminary discussion promises a worthwhile climb.

In pressing so hard for a summit, Khrushchev was possibly guilty of another offense often charged against the West —paying too much attention to world opinion.

Don't Push. In addition to demonstrating once again Russia's "peaceful intentions" Khrushchev was obviously also attempting to soften up the West and extort some real concessions. The West's response depended in part on how Western statesmen evaluate a theory about Khrushchev that has gained wide acceptance, particularly in Britain. Its advocates make the case that Nikita Khrushchev is the most reasonable of all Russian leaders and "the West's best friend in Moscow." Therefore, they maintain, the Allies should try hard to reach an accord with him.

By accommodating Nikita, the argument goes, the West would strengthen Khrushchev's hand against the still powerful Stalinists, who, with the Chinese Communists, still cling to the Marxist dogma that war between the two systems is inevitable. If, on the other hand, the West pushes Khrushchev too hard, he might fall, and a Stalinist or "Chinese" successor might be far tougher to deal with. In effect, this theory is a political version of Hilaire Belloc's cautionary verse:

Always keep ahold of Nurse

For fear of finding something worse.