Friendship does not usually lead to war or peace. War and peace depend upon survival. Any veteran will remember men whom he disliked intensely in his own wartime outfits: he never day-dreamed of turning them over to the enemy just because he was personally antagonistic to them. _A common danger from something_--more complicatedly, _a common interest in something_--is a far more potent assurance of future strength and strategic action than is friendship. Friendship operates between individuals, not between the overgrown corporate fictions which are called nations. If you were a West German, and if you were absolutely positive that all Americans were lovely people, you would be wise to join the Soviet side. That way, if the Russians win, you will have appeased the enigmatic and implacable Muscovites. On the other hand, if the Americans win and you are sure they are lovely people as well as good friends of yours, they will not _really_ mind your having joined the other side as a matter of temporary factual necessity. If a man is your best friend he may jump into the river to rescue you, should you fall in; unfortunately, he might prefer to telephone a rescue squad. But if he is handcuffed to you, you are reasonably sure that if you fall in he will be with you. Call it propaganda, call it information, call it international communication--under any name the major point remains: _Americans can find trustworthy future allies through commitment to common interest or common danger_. Friendship is pleasant, but not of the essence. In some cases it might be desirable for leaders or key groups in important foreign areas to realize that the United States could be a _worse enemy_ than the Soviet Union, rather than to realize that the U.S. is a friend. If the French were sure of this--that is, that a Soviet-occupied France would get sixty-five hydrogen bombs dropped on it while a U.S.-occupied France would get only three--they might prefer the Americans whether they liked them or not. Is this kind of communication consistent with American ideals? Perhaps not. Yet _honesty_ has always been one of the American ideals and perhaps honesty may take us in the future to a stronger and a wiser position than friendliness has taken us in the past. CHAPTER 16 Research, Development, and the Future