Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-08-18

tree nations.
8. American policy and STRAIT
egy are flexible. and are being
constantly adjusted to chang
ing factors - international.
scientific and economic.
1. The United States Navy
Is ''the precision instrument Of
national policy"-as exempli-
ned IN the role Of the Sixth
Fleet In the Mediterranean dur
ing the Jordan crisis.
5. One Of the greatest prob
lens confronting the military
Of this country is to keep strong
and swift to retaliate without
undermining the country's eco
nOmic strength--since costs Of
modern weapons are becoming
terrific.
6. Competition among differ
ing military viewpoints is the
vital likelihood Of military alert
ness and progress-which could
be stified BY any attempt to put
all the services in one uniform
under one command, or put
control Of any single modern
weapon In the hands Of any one
service.
PUSH Button warning
In an exclusive interview with
this reporter. Admiral Burke.
one Of the keenest military
minds In the West. warns
against the belief that we are
entering . period Of push
button war.
There is no such thing as q
push-button war" Admiral
Burke said. THE side that re-
lies ON push-buttons will lose to
the side that uses its collective
head and wits.
1.-THE policy of the United
States is to participate In col
lective security In . world at
peace to enable all nations and
people TO prosper. The Com
munists, Of course, want to
dominate the world. We don't
want to dominate the world.
Neither do we want anyone else
to dominate it. It is not to the
advantage Of the Communists
to start 9 war when they win
be annihilated in the process.
even though. in that war they,
too, might be able to annihilate
US. Therefore, as long as we
maintain the capability Of an
initiating them, ! don't think
the Communists viii risk war
Of humiliation"
Questions and Answers
Here in uuestion-and-a nswer
form. Admiral Burke discusses
many Of the vital problems Of
security:
Q. Has there been any change
n the national policy and STRAIT
egy during your first term as
Chief Of Naval Operations?
A. If you look at the national
policy two years ago and now,
fundamentally, it is the same,
but there are many variants be-
cause situations change-the
Suez crisis, for example. and
the new American Middle East
policy. The Hungarian situa-
ton changed it. The shift in
Soviet leadership changed the
situation.
Q. What about strategy?
A. Strategy changes q little
bit. too. Other nations affect
our policy and. consequently.
our strategy: changes In weap-
ons and changes In techniQues
also affect them. Fundamen-
tally, however, naval strategy
doesn't change-not very much.
@. WIN you explain why.
please?
A. Well, because the basic
mission is to control the seas
in the event Of war. The meth
DDS by which you maintain con-
troll Of the seas change. Your
tactics change, ships change,
but basic strategy does not. The
basic strategy is just as it
always has been. In order to
control the sea, you destroy the
threat to that control-you de-
stroy the threat wherever 1t 10
and that has always been
true.
View on Sea Force
Q. Has anything happened
TO make the Navy outmoded
todaya
A. Well, take the Suez and
Jordan crises. the dificulties in
the Middle East as well as in
the Far East. The Navy showed
that It was what somebody
said about it the other day
the Navy is the precision In
strument Of national power.
q. win you please explain
that?
A. When we want to do Just
little things, we can do them
precisely without stepping on
anybody's toes internationally,
or interfering with anybody
else's business, or getting any
complaints from anybody--be-
cause we can move into posi-
ton where we want TO move
without crossing any frontiers
And yet we can get close
enough to the trouble to show
we can apply force II necessary
Q. Some critics say 1t takes
the Navy so long to get any
where. as for example, In the
recent Jordan crisis It took the
9Th Fleet two and q half days
TO get TO its destination.
A. Yes. that's true. But the
minute the feet was ordered TO
sail, the good was done. dor
dan King Hussein realized that
he was going to get help against
possible external aggression
The important thing in any
situation is the state Of mind,
When a fleet starts to move
obviously. it Is done for a pur-