REF ID:A39283 

· Maiter-_of Fact · IA/a 5 4.~ Po s /- l(e:.r c?ld, ~ ;2 5 e ,P /. 'Jy 

• • • By Joseph and Stewart Alsop 

-Central Problem oJ .. Defense _________ _ • .. • .-:"" ' '1:· :t it.'!.1.. ,t 

. ' AS TIME PASSES, the ·-William Havens, a neutron tion adopted a tactic of buy-

-~J;roblem of the defense· ~f the specialist from Columbia; and ing time by appointing com-

: ,American continent ·against Bernard Brodie of Yale. - -mittees. The Lincoln Project 

actual physical destruction The familiar· problem which is the distant ancestor of the 

looms larger and larger, until' confronts both these commis- -presen·i commissions, but they 

~fr._ begins to dwarf or engulf sions is in its essence simple have all sorts of intermediate 

,alt other national problems. enough. Two years ago, the ancestors, including the Kelly, 

~-;Only a little while ago, the Lincoln Project report pro- Bull and Sprague inqumes, 

threat of devastating atomic · posed a serious effort to and many less formal studies . 

. attack seemed to most people create a continental defense Each study produced essen-

;soinething to worry about against air-atomic attack. This tially the same an!!>Yer-a far 

·later. Now the threat is so effort was to consist essential- more effective defense against 

real and visible-at least to ly of two parts. air atomic attack is both pos-

_._those officials with access to The first part was an early sible and essential. The fact · Ii 1· t that the original Lincoln study hidden ·facts-that it begins warnmg ne or mes, o pro- "d I h · f set an 80 percent "kill rate" as to seem that something really v1 e severa ours warmng o t t d t b impending attack by the So- a arge was suppose o e serious may belatedly be done viet "long range air army." The evidence of unrealistic "Magiabout it. second part was the means not Line thinking." As a result 

of the more recent studies, Two distinguished special to respond to the· attack. An the target of attacking bombcommissions-the last in a effective response would re- d d h b d quire a chain of fighter and ers estroye as een uppe long series-have been ap- missile bases, reaching up into to 90 percent - enough t"o in- - pointed, to study once again Northern Canada, so that any sure against really crippling 

the central and dominating --~~ackmg force would have attacks, even with hydrogen bombs. problem. One of these com- to run a murderous gantlet With this background, the 

ml·ssions was appointed by of defensive fire. t · · t The warning system is rela- wo new comm1ss10ns are ge - ·the National Security Coun- tively cheap, and there is no ting on with their work in a . cil. It is composed of high longer any real argument wholly new atmosphere. SigGovernment officials and of about it. The Mid-Canada nificantly, Dr. Killian,' who is playing the maJor role in the 

outside experts, among whom warning line is already gomg study for the NSC, also con- . the most important is Dr. forward, and the construction tributed importantly to the of the Far North line, on the 

James Killian of the Massa- continental frmges, has been Lincoln Project report. As for the Wede me y-e r chusetts Institute of Tech- approved at least in principle. group, at least two mem- . nology. But an effective response will bers-Wedemeyer himself and . The second commission was be anythmg but cheap. The Charles Lindbergh-have deep needed chain of fully equipped . appointed by Rep. W. Sterling fighter and missile bases would budget-balancmg instincts. But 

f h J . the group has been working Cole, chairman o t e omt soon add from 2.5 billion dol- hard, and receiving an inten- -Committee on Atomic Energy. lars to 5 billion dollars to the sive education in air-atomic 

·It consists of four disJ,in- yearly budget. realities in the process. And 

. h d "t" d f f Throughout the whole, long, there is already some reason gu1s e c1 izens an our 0 wasting argument about air · t" t Th to expect a strong and unani- the younger SClen lS S. e atomic defense, this has been rUOUS report proposing a much 

chairman is Lieut. Gen. Al· the real sticking point. The accelerated air-atomic defense 

bert c. Wedemeyer. The proponents of balancir.g the effort. 

th . t"fi b, s' budget at whatever cost to na- Meanwhile, of course, almost o er nonscien 1 c mem er tional security instantly atL. t G El d R two years have been largely ar!! ieu . en. woo · tacked the Lincoln Report as · lost. And ·now a new argu- Quesada, Gordon Dean, for- dream stuff by long-hairs. ment is _being heard-that the mer chairman of the Atomic They were joined by the big Soviets will soon have ballistic 

Energy Commission, and bomber 'generals and their missiles, against which there . · spokesmen, who feared-with- is ho known· d'efense. · This Charles Lindbergh, the great out any visible ·J·ustification 

may. be .so. But at least it is 

aviator. whatever - that a serious air worth bearing in mind that 

The scientific members are defense would bite into the the people who are now say-· 

·Herbert York, director of the Strategic Air Command's bud· ing it is too late are the very 

Livermore Laboratories in ' get. same people who were respon·:- California; Frederic de Hoff· . In the face of such power· sible for the delay. . ).' · · mann, a brilliant younger ful oppositit;1n to an effective · .. '· · physicist from Lo~ Ala~os;, 'air .'defens~, the Administra·: .> ,ccoWe~i:~t,T~f:ine~e -:; _r rt '', ~- '\ • 1 - "' - '"r • ' -" " r • , 1 • • ~ -~ , : ~ "i •