Speech #820230001

Mr. Speaker. I am glad to present to my colleagues who are present. and to get into the RECORD. a brief report of an investigation which I recently made in countries of Western Europe in regard to a great and unused military asset. namely. the many refugees and escapees from the countries behind the iron curtain who are ready and willing to join with us in the defense of Western Europe and of the free world. Mr. Speaker. we are strengthening our military forces in Western Europe and throughout the world in order to stand against a very serious threat of Communist aggression. Yet. we are not using one of the biggest assets we have in this fight. The whole burden of my report this afternoon will be a plea that the time has come to utilize this great asset. which we have in the refugees and escapees from the iron curtain countries of Eastern Europe. I make a plea that we establish an Army of Liberation from the available military personnel among those refugees and exiles from the countries bordering the Soviet Union which are now unhappily dominated and controlled by the Kremlin. My colleagues will recall that in consideration of the Mutual Security Administration appropriation last August there was inserted in that bill an item known as the Kersten amendment. The amount involved was $100.000.000. The l.purpose of that appropriation item was to assist refugees and escapees. exiles. if you please. from those countries now dominated by the Kremlin. who have escaped and gotten into zones of Western Germany and into other areas of Western Europe. in finding themselves and in relocating and also in preparing them to assist us in standing against Communist aggression in Western Europe. Specifically. it was in the minds of many of us who supported that amendment to the appropriation bill that this money could be utilized through authorization of the State Department and the Mutual Security Administration. and then specifically by the Military Department. in order to. bring into our military forces such available manpower as would be found among these refugees and exiles. We hoped they would be utilized in .strengthening our NATO and western European defense forces. I am sorry to report that. according to information given to me today by the responsible authority in the State Department. not one cent of that $100.000.000 has been utilized. I was assured. it is true. that plans are under way to utilize that money sometime. To give the State Department credit. they assurt us that they have plans not only to assist those refugees in getting additional food and housing and taking care of their immediate needs. but they are hoping sometime to take up with other members of the NATO group the utilization of the ablebodied manpower that can be brought into our military defense. I am only sorry that that has not been done long ago. I think the time has come to utilize this great asset that we have. namely. the burning desire of those refugees. those escapees. those exiles from behind the iron curtain. for the liberation of their own people and the reestablishment of freedom In their homelands. I refer specifically. of course. to those countries starting with the Baltic area. little countries now completely absorbed by the Soviet UnionEstonia. Latvia.