portant to the Security Council and its Military Staff
Committee, at a time when they are working on a plan
for the organization of the armed forces that are to be
made available to the Security Council for the purpose
of maintaining universal peace.
The submission of this information will affect, above
all, such of the great Powers as the United States of Amer-
ica, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, which during
the war were compelled to send troops beyond their
borders to fight our common enemy. Under the Soviet
Government's proposal, all states, and first and foremost
the great Powers, would be obliged to render account of
the armed forces and military bases they still -maintain
on the territories of other United Nations. If this infor-
mation were submitted it would, of course, be easier to
bring this abnormal situation to a speedy end. After all,
the war being over long since, what justification can there
be for the presence of troops on foreign territory, aside
from those individual exceptions which we all know and
understand.
The presence of foreign troops on the territory of one
or another United Nation may, as we know, foe used by
. another state to exert impermissible pressure on that
country's domestic affairs. It may be used to exert pres-
sure not only on ihe domestic affairs of the country con-
cerned, but also on the relation^ (between that country and
its neighbours. This is obviously an impermissible sit-
uation.
As might have been expected, the Soviet -Government's
proposal met with great sympathy, particularly on the
part of the small countries; for they, indeed, are not
infrequently very aware of outside pressure, especially when
Jt is Backed by the presence of armed forces on their
territories.