Evening star., 1953-07-05
Usefulness Seen in
A-Weopon Publicity
Revelations Of Facts Might
Impress KremIin Leaders
By Fronk R. Kent

By Fronk R. Kent
At the moment there is an inSistent
demand from a good many quarters
that the American people be told the
truth. Hardly day passes but there
comes from some pundit or publicist
or politician a bleat about not being
told the truth-particularly about the
things heretofore classified as top
secret, such as data about atomic
bombs and atomic weapons generally.
The stage now has been reached
where the argument-and it is
plausible one, too-is that besides the
also be told our allies-and even our
enemies. This inSiStence upon full
publicity for all the facts comes not
only from such men as the t,istin-
guiShed retiring chairman of the
Atomic Energy Committee, Gordon
Dean, but from others who convinc-
ingly speak with the voice of knowledge
and experience. So clear and concrete
is the case these men present that it
seems impossible to dispute. At any
rate it has not been disputed-either
by the White House. the Pentagon, the
State Department or the politicians.
whose practice is to ignore facts.
Yet. if what these men say is only
partly true (and they are not the kind
of men lightly to be brushed aside) a
considerable change in our national
thinking and military strategy seems
imperative. For example. Mr. Dean,
whose right to speak authoritatively is
not questioned. makes two fiat asser-
tions: Cd That the greatest tragedy
that could happen is that Russia
should go to war with us under a
misapprehension of our strength in
atomic weapons; (2) that the sureSt
way to deter the Russians from
stumbling into war is to give them the
full facts of our atomic stockpile
strength, together with the rate Of its
increase, including progress on the
hydrogen bomb and other atomic
weapons. Give them the facts, Mr..
Dean urges, make them believe them
and there will be no war.
A considerable number Of eminent
men agree with Mr.. Dean on this. The
force of their argument is that we now
are so vastly superior in atomic equip
ment to Russia and are increasing cur
advantages at such rate, that any
realistic appreciation of the situation
makes the idea Of Russia initiating a
war OH us completely absurd. Even
giving her the privilege of dropping the
first bombs, which Senator Stuart SYM
ingtOn of Missouri peSSimiStically eSti-
mates might kill 13 million people here
even then our capacity for retalia-
ton is so swift and so overwhelming,
that all of Russia could be destroyed
before she knew what had happened
here. This, most of our best informed
scientists agree, is the truth. The
great difficulty. says Mr.. Dean, is 10
get Russia to believe it.
That should be simple enough ex-
cept for the fact that we would have
completely to destroy Soviet faith in
the great number of espionage agents
whom the Soviet authorities have
planted in this country. Unable them
selves to dig out the truth, these agents
naturally would be extremely skeptical
if the facts were laid in their hands by
top men of the United States Govern
ment. Quite naturally, they and their
Kremlin bosses would regard it as a
great American bluff. They vastly pre-
fer to believe the lurid stories of our
complete defenselessness which from
time to time appear in our press and
on the air. Conceding the difficulties
of convincing the ordinary Soviet espio-
mage agent of the truth and persuad-
ing him, even If convinced, of the wis
dom of telling mis- Superiors how inferior
they are in any atomic comparison, it
does seem that some way might be
found to inform and convince the top
Soviet representatives in this coun-
try. such as Andre Y. Vishinsky, chief
Soviet figure in the United Nations. and
Georgi N. Zaroubln, Russian AmbaSsa-
dor in Washington.
But" the reply is. mo matter how
much you tell Mr.. Vishinsky and AM
baSsador Zarubin nor how firmly they
are convinced. how do we know that
they, fearful of the effects upon them
selves personally and politically, will
not hesitate to give such bad news to
the heads of the Russian government"
Perhaps that is true and there is no
way for truth to permeate. Neverthe-
less, if full knowledge of what we have
and what we are going to have would
be the real deterrent to war we can
keep trying