Evening star., 1951-05-06
General Discusses
u. S. Intelligence

Senator Morse.-One of the
criticisms that was somewhat
prevalent in our country at the
time of the break-through was
that our intelligence had appar-
emily been caught mapping in
that it would be presumed that
they did not know of the strength
OF the Communists north of the
3oth parallel, and that criticism
on the part of people who ap-
parently did not know the facts,
went also to your command, with
such questions as why didn't Mac
Arthur's command know of the
strength of the Communists north
of the 38th parallel. What would
you like to make on that for the
record?
/ Gen. MacArthur.-Well, to an
SWer the latter part first. it was
not in my command; I didn't
have anything to do with it.
But to answer the main part
of the query. there is a pretty
definite limit to which intelligence
can be gathered.
The difficulties of first ascer-
tanning the facts, and then max
ing conclusions from those facts,
1 don't think the normal public
quite understands.
1t is not as though you had
captured an enemy order and
there it was all laid out there.
Even if you know troops are being
concentrated in a certain area,
it doesn't follow that you make
the correct conclusion whether
they are there for defensive
purposes, aggressive purposes;
whether they are put there as a
blind or as bluff or caution or
not.
I don't think the criticisms of
the intelligence service are well
taken. believe that the intelli-
gence service collected about as
much of the facts as it was posi-
BILE to collect from an area that
is behind the Iron Curtain.
1t is not easy to get in there
and find out.
Now, the assessment of all those
things does not fundamentally
and PRIMARILY rest with local
command. About all the local
command could do is to tell you
what is going on on it's immediate
front.
There has to be an evaluation
made in the highest governmental
level of all the information that
flows in from the chancellories
of the world to make the pre-
dictions.
Couldn't Predict Attack.
I don't see how it would have
been humanity possible for any
man or group of men to predict
such an attack as that, any more
than you could predict such an
attack as took place at Pearl
Harbor.
There is nothing. no means or
methods, except the accidental spy
methodist you can get some
body to betray the enemy's higher
circles, that can get such informa-
tion as that. 1t is guarded with a
secrecy that you cannot overesti-
mate. Not even. probably, the
commanding officers Of the units,
military units, concerned knew
what was going on until they got
the order to march.
Those things, the value of sur
prise in warfare just cannot be
Ioverestimated; and when you have
an adversary who has none of the
spiritual or moral qualiflcati tions to
abide by the rules of international
law, 1t increases the difficulty of
ascertaining what they are going
to do.
Now, that attack by the North
Koreans was, according to inter-
national law standards, an entire
ly Illegal attack. It was not pre-
ceded by any declaration. There
was nothing that gave the author
lty to the North Koreans troops
TO Kill. Troops don't have that
authority except by the declara-
ton of war.
Those people struck without
any war; it was even worse when
Red China interviewed. There was
not the slightest declaration: even
today there has been no such
declaration.
All OF the complex rules of in
ternational law which were built
iup from the early davs which