REF ID:A39334 

• 

Matter Of' Fact. • • By Stewart Alsop 

9 Ot.; ~ S-3 

Operation Confusion----------·------

• • • • 

A SERt'OUS·MINDED citi· of these panicky persons ls how be relaxed." The conflict 

zen these days can hardly be Wilson's Chief of Air Staff, with Wilson's statement needs 

blamed for feeling e. little ljke Gen. Nathan Twining. Twining no underlining. 

one of those laboratory rats said some months ago that the 

which, exposed to conflicting Russian "long-range bomber Cl'+.!I 

stimuli, is reduced to ·a con- force is now so big" that the · ANOTHER argument is that 

dition of quivering rodential Soviets no longer need to "in· nothing more can be done unneurosis. For American citi· ~rease its size," b~t only to der present manpower ceilings. 

zens in recent days have been improve the quahty of the Actually, a study of precisely subjected to an avalanche of plane. this problem, under Air Force 

wildly conflicting statements But let this. pa.ss. ~ssume sponsorshil>, known by the 

about the Soviet air-atomic that Secretary Wilson 1s per- code name "Operation Corthreat, all emanating from fectly correct in estimating rode," has concluded that a 

supposedly well-informed of· that it will be three years be· deep area defense can be 

ficials. "Operation Candor" fore the Soviet air force can manned with available man. 

looks like becoming !'Opera- devastate the United States. power. Even if this conclusion 

tion Confusion." By any reasonable test, this is over-qptimistic, it is surely The confusion has been com- estimate is the besf possible a little odd to argue that a 

pounded, moreover, by the na- argument for going all out Im- nation of 160 million ··people 

ture of Secretary of Defense mediately on a major conti· cannot provide the men to pre. 

Charles E. Wilson's arguments nental defense effort. Under vent its own destruction. 

against any really major effort any circumstances, it will take A final argument is that it 

to strengthen the continental a long time to build a fully is no use making a big invest· 

defense against nuclear attack. mature early warning net, and II?ent in air. defense, since So. 

Secretary Wilson has said that above all the weapons to re· ~1et perfe~tion of new devices 

he proposes to spend no more spond effectively to the warn· l~kC: thC: i~tercontinental bal· 

than an additional hal.C billion ing. But if we do indeed have hstic misslle will render such 

or so for air defense, as against three years grace, the job cap. a d~fens~ obsolete. This flies 

the very much larger effort still be done, according to the stra1~ht m ~e face of the ~e· recommended in the Lincoln best experts in the field, if not assuri?1~. estimates of Soviet 

Project report, the Kelly com- a minute is wasted in the ~apabilltie~ c~ted ab~ve. ~at mittee report, the Bull com· meantime. is ~ore, it . 1s. precisely l~ke 

mittee report, and a host of The other arguments ad· saying that it is. no use going other special expert studies. vanced by Secretary Wilson to a doctor, since everyone In support of his decision, ·against a major air. defense ef· must die in the end anyway. 

Wilson says that "it will be fort, which are echoed by high je~h. i;ul\s ~ t~~~Eyli~~~h~ics~ b-1 .. perhaps three years before Pentagon sources, are equally they (the Russians) have a confusing and .conflicting. At ties. It is possible that Secrereasonable number. of bombs his press c o n f e re n c e on tary Wilson and those· who 

and airplanes that could de~ Wednesday, for example, Wil· agree with him are right, and 

liver them." This statement son intimated that no more that for some undisclosed 

is subject to argument. Sec· than the half billion additional technical or other reasons the h Id b great number of experts who retary Wilson apparently re- e proposes cou e spent, have 11tudied the subject are 

fers only to hydrogen bombs, eve? if much more money were wrong. lt is possible that these 

for example, conveniently available. h overlooking the fact that for On the very same day, Gen. reasons ave nothing to do 

more than four years the so- Benjam.in Chidlaw, chief of with the desire to lower taxes th A D f C and balance the budget or viets have been stockpiling e ir e en~e ommand, with the congenital affection 

atomic bombs. A mere half also had somethmg to say. He of the military for the utterly dozen or so big atomic bombs rem~ked sadly ~at it wa.~ im· out-dated "balanced force" or 

could destroy the larger cities possi~!e to provide even ade· three-way split concept. But 

in this country. quate protection under pres- the reasons so· far advanced 

r+D 

AGAIN, Secretary Wilson 

remarked in support of his decision that "panicky" persons 

were giving the Russians 

credit for "some bombers they 

don't have." Presumably one 

ent money and other limits. "I feel confident," he added. for a penny-wise approach to 

"that when it becomes fully the tontinental defense probappareut to our national lead~ lem, which is really the probers that an adequate degree of lem of national survival, are 

protection cannot be provided confusing; conflicting, and very within the limits imposed, the far_ from convincing. 

present restrictions will some· 1 Co1>1r111tt.T:&Jne~e~c~ork He1·atd 

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