Evening star., 1948-05-03
BY Williom J. Donovon

y
Weapons-armies and ships anC
planes and shooting. But there is
a~phase of war other than shooting
this Is subversive war, and this wal
Is now in progress.
= The Soviet Union is waging it moi
by its Red Army but by the Com
munist Party of Russia and its fifth
columns throughout the world
against our country, against al
other democracies, against al
democratic movements.
When President Truman appeared
before a joint session of Congress
on March II, he made clear that We
do not intend to let Russia dominate
all OF Europe and he called upon
the Nation to prepare for war if the
Soviet Union did not heed the warn
Ing.
Marshall More Specific.
Secretary OF State Marshall was
more specific. He pointed out that
diplomatic protests will mean moth
ing to Russia II she thinks we are
,mprepared to fight. Diplomatic
action without the backing of mill
tary strength in the present world
can lead only to appeasement," he
said.
Soviet tactics on every question, on
disarmament, on the Use of United
Nation machinery, must be ap-
praised in the light of the Bolshe-
vik conviction that an Armageddon,
an ultimate armed clash for the
mastery Of the world, is unavoid-
able.
The Russian fifth column is dif-
ferent from the Nazi fifth column.
The Nazis had small groups of ad-
herents in the democratic countries,
and their espionage apparatus was
more limited. Nazism had no real
base in the United States
Trained in Minority Control.
The Communists fifth column, on
the other hand, seeks to identify
itself with every social grievance
Russian espionage and subversive
operation are made up Of trained
and skilled spy technicians and in
telligence officers, propaganda Spe-
cialtSts, experts in the spreading OF
rumor.
Instruction is planned so that the
agent will find it as easy for a mi
nority to operate a labor union, or
a pacifiSt league, or any other such
movement, as it is for a minority
group to control large corporation
when most of the stockholders take
no active interest in the manage
ment.
In all countries. the Communists
stress the tactical Importance of
the channels of public information
They give strict attention to the
development of their own press
abroad, popular dailieS and week
lies as well as technical marxist
monthly and quarterly journals.
Plan sInfiltration.
These tactics provide for the in
filtration by Communists and sym
psthizers into radio, movies, book
publishing, and even music and
other arts. Stress is placed on
The seizure OF newsprint and print
ing forms. Special care is taken to
develop the communist control of
labor in key ndustries-industries
rated as of special Importance
either for warmaking or for dis
rupting nations economy.
All war aims at the surrender Of
the mind-the conversion of the will
10 resist into a willingness to accept
defeat. To attain this object. the
weapons used are not exclusively
military; propaganda can also be
efective-all means, both moral and
physical, tending to convince the
enemy that it is better for him to
yield rather than to resist.
Steadily the Soviet sneak-up war
has eaten into our strength in
Southeastern and Western Europe
the Middle East. China and Korea
wherever our interests have been
In conflict with those of Russia
Our bastion of Western Europe has
been steadily disintegrated by an
invasion which we have up to this
moment let go by default.
Five-Point Program.
Now that we know Russias s in
tent, now that We see the pattern
of her tactics and understand the
significance of her warfare-this Is
the way We must meet this sub
verSive offensive:
l. We must perfect our intelli-
pence services so that we may
quickly unmask Soviet intentions
and develop those techniques of
unorthodox tactics which World
War II has demonstrated to be
essential.
2. We must counter Soviet
subverSlve attacks, and help to
build resistance in countries
Russia attempts to Subjugate.
8. We must take the offensive
on the psychological front and
assist our Allies in assembling
facilities for getting the truth
10 the Russian people.
4. We must adopt firm pol
icy of immediate repriSal against
the Soviet Union for every indig-
nifty or physical injury or unlaw-
full imprisonment of our men in
military service.
5. We must use our economy
as a weapon against the Soviet
Union and not permit her to use
II against us.
Aid Plan Not Enough.
Our real danger lies in the fact
that if we permit Russia TO out
maneuver us, TO seize bases import
ant to us, to penetrate our inner
defenSeS under a strategy of dis
unity, the day may come when, If
we should feel it necessary to fight,
we should not be able to get on our
feet to do so.
The Marshall Plan is vital. But
In my view it is not the final solu-
tion. We must avoid the danger OF
regarding it as a kind of economic
Maginot Line. II we do not support
II with other weapons, and if then
1t should fail, either because OF
sabotage or for any other reason
this failure would be exploited to
our hurt.
In the Marshall Plan and its ef-
fectS, the Soviet Union sees the
restoration Of tho ecpnOuic opd in