Evening star., 1951-05-30

/ Another reason, the general
went on, was the "squeezebox
Joperationss under which Congress
lhas appropriated money for spe-
Icific projects, then cut it back the
following year. then enlarged it
again later. He said his refer
Iences to this "wasteful method OF
financing" however, applied to all
1.-THE armed forces. not just the Air
Force.
/ At another point, Gen. Vanden-
berg testified that a United Ma
Itions police force to preserve the
peace is "the ultimate objective"
but that he felt a balance of
power project is much nearer at
hand in being able to become
effective.
Explains Balance Of Power.
Asked by Senator Smith, Re-
publican, OF New Jersey to define
his understanding of balance OF
power. the general replied:
MY idea Of the balance of
power. Senator, is that it be so
regulated within the capacity,
capability of the United States
to be able to throw its weight to
one side or another in order to
preserve the peace.
"I think that would be true
either In the u. NJ, in NATO or in
the global situation itself I think
that is inherent, however, in the
United States having sufficient
power so that, where it throws its
weight. 1t then becomes the ball
ance Of power" t'
/ He said he felt the Ideal of the
III. N. is an excellent one," but
that II believe it is going to re-
quire time to get into operation
where it is, throughout the world,
believed in SO that it becomes a
potent force for good"
/ Senator Smith-Do you think,
until that happens, we have got to
keep sufficient strength to take
care of our own interests and the
interests Of the rest of the world
| as we'll?
! Gen. Vandenberg-I do, sir.
In answer to questions by Sena-
tor Cain, Republican, of Washing
ton, Gen. Vandenberg elaborated
on his earlier estimate that the
Air Force would have to double
Its strategic power to carry out
tGen. MacArthur's bombing recon-
Imendations and still meet global
requirements. The general said
|he did not think Gen. Macarthur
had in mind "leveling Manchuria
and all the large medium-sized
cities in China"
However I believe that to
be effective in the use Of air power
against secondary targets, a rela-
lively small-range effort is pro-
Iductive Of but small-range results
i Wouldn't Win War.
Therefore, blowing up a depot
here and there. over a long period
of time will assist your army
forces quite measurably, as they
|Iare now doing in Korea. But tc
become effective-to really turr
the tide of battle so that it i.
!. practically impossible to move
anything from the border to the
North Korean border /. you
would have to almost lay waste
Iall of those facilities which woulc
lend themselves toward hiding Of
storing or stockpiling equipment
]. That. in a small measure, i.
what is being done today by the
lB-29s in going through the area
land blowing up buildings in which
troops are housed; in blowing ur
lhaystacks under which tanks are
hidden !. then you are going tt
,Ileyel those methods of communi-
cation. those facilities for hiding
the material :. which form some
measure of ability of manufacture
toward the war effort, both In
China proper and in Manchuria. ;
4 He ended his explanation bJ
reiterating the belief that there i.
"a possibility. in any event, thai
Russia could continue the war By
routing supplies and reinforce.
Iments into Korea through it.
eastern border. which joins Rus
] sian territory.
The general also testified thai
last June, during White HOUSE
talks about immediate steps tt
meet the outbreak of Korean
fighting. the concensus was tha
there was "a relatively small
chance" Russia or Red Chins
would enter the war.
Senator Cain then asked If /
was fair to say the possibility wa.
discussed but that mo conclusiy,
determination was made as Il
what the allies would do" if Chins
did intervene.
THAT is correct, sir" the gen
eral replied.
Senator Cain-But. Gen. Van
denberg, as of now, the Rec
Chinese are in the war. and w
Z do not exactly know what to dt
about 1t, as see the situation.
r Destroying Know-How.
| Gen. Vandenberg-I can't quit,
! agree with that. I think we ar,
: doing first-rate job of destroyin,
I the know-how Of the Chimes,
: army, which is not as extensive
the hard core is not as extensive
as we get from the figures of tn,
mass population of China.
. The general agreed, under fur
e ther questioning, however, tha
"as the distance between the Yall
River and our troops decreases
t the effectiveness of our tactica
Air Force decreases in direct pro
= portion"
o Gen. Vandenberg said that, witt
: increasing effectiveness of nigh
d air operations, "it would be NOR
difficult for them (the enemy t
q successfully operate than it wa
u six or seven months ago." Blu
ttstill. he added. "the greatest lengtl
n lof road and rail YOU can get tn