Evening star., 1948-02-16

War, in such case, would be close
to u.s."
He referred especially to troubled
Palestine and Greece, with the COM
ment that "one isolated action
might precipitate conflict and. once
started in a critical area, war leaps
across new borders and quickly in
wolves other nations whose whole
desire is for peace"
Offensive War "Repugnant."
He made It plain that he did not
think the United States ever would
start q war, calling "repugnant to
our way of life" the possibilities Of
obtaining security by world domina-
ton or preventive conquest Of a
nation we might fear.
The United States, he said, daily
becomes more sensitive to types OF
attack that will certainly be char
acteristic Of future wars"
Commenting that "our national
life would be crippled if Washing
ton, New York and few other
centers were subjected to sudden
attack and we could scarcely carry
on If bacteria should destroy the
grain crop of q single year." he said
the military program must be aimed
at:
Development of a military estab-
lishment able to defend the conti-
mental United States and its base
periphery against attack; to strike
Immediately retaliatory blows and
to destroy, If possible, the enemy's
bases of attack and sources Of
armed power; to contain the
enemy's main forces while organ
izing strength to disorganize or
heavily damage his main base"
He listed limiting factors in use
of the atomic bomb as:
"The first is the numbers
of the bomb available for use. An
immense stockpile would be required
to obliterate our war potential OF
that of any major power. The
second factor is the distance to be
traversed from base to target; each
mile added to its flight reduces the
accuracy Of a projectile and in
creases the vulnerability of a car
rier. Third is the factor of the We
hicle, aerial or naval, that moves the
bomb against the target; no vehicle
long remains immune to effective
counteraction."
The general stressed the fact that
the country's ree-dimensional
military frontier requires balanced
military establishment. He urged
"air, ground and sea forces so
planned and disposed as to present
effective defense against attacks
that may come in a multitude of
ways, over many routes, from many
sections"
In language such as is seldom used
in a peacetime report. the retired
Chief of Staff declared:
The virtual complete dispersion
of our ground strength cannot be
permitted to continue over any con-
siderable period, because there are
elements in both the world situa-
ton and our own strategic position
that demand the constant availa-
nility of respectable land forces"
In reiterating his support of the
universal military training proposal,
he added this warning:
Unless the proposed plan is
adopted in the near future, we must
recast our traditional attitude to-
ward a small professional security
establishment and embark upon a
total reorganization of the Army's
civilian components."
Hopes fer Peace by U. N.
Grim though its general tone, the
report to Secretary of the Army
Royal was not without expression
of hope for lasting peace through
the United Nations. He called U. N.
"a functioning organization able to
incorporate into the worlds social
fabric whatever has been proved
worthy and effective for the main
tenance of peace" }
of peace" ,..
However, he added, there may be
"a generation, or even century,
before the nations in concert de-
velop practical measures to Danish
war from international relations,
but If men can learn only by re-