Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-05-05
BY WILLIAM HILLMAN

Gen. Nathan F. Twining, soon
to become top military man OF
the United States, says the long
range, incorporated bomber
carrying nuclear bombs, and not
the guided missile will remain
the principal safeguard Of the
peace Of the world for some
years to come.
Speaking as chief Of staff OF
the Air Force. Gen. Twining
sounded an important warning
concerning the so-called "weap-
ons Of the future" about which
there is so much discussion both
here and abroad. There can be
no question, he said, as to the
high promise Of missiles.
However" he added. "ouI
strategy cannot with prudence
be based upon these weapons
until they have been proven and
moreover. are available in opera
tional quantities for our combat
forces"
@. General, what is our mill
tary position today?
A. Well, as ! have said. we
have the largest and strongest
military force we have ever had
in peacetime and I feel that we
have within our structure, within
the services. sufficient forces to
maintain our position in world
affairs.
@. Speaking still as the Air
Force chief. can you be little
more specific about that?
A. We have in the United
States today the largest and
most effective retaliatory strike
force there is in the world. There
Is no question about that in my
mind. The important thing,
then. is to preserve that force
and that's what we are doing
now.
We're building bases and we're
building q more effective ali
defense system. Although this
system is for defense of this
hemisphere. it is also protection
for our allies because it shields
our retaliatory ability. In addi-
ton. whe have our Tactical Air
Force. which is primarily teamed
with the Army in the field. 1t is
mobile, can get around quickly
and 1t can use a great variety
of weapons. either nuclear OF
high-explosive (TNT) types.
Prevention Is Main Task
@. Is it likely, General, that
with all our talk of nuclear war
fare, small wars may sneak up
on us in which atomic weapons
are never used? Before the Sec
ond World War everybody talked
about gas. but gas was never
used.
A. Well, first Of all one must
not confuse gas munitions with
atomic weapons. Gas would be
effective only under specialized
conditions. and would never be
Q decisive weapon.
On the other hand our tests
show that nuclear weapons
would be extremely effective un-
der q wide variety of conditions
There is no question that nu-
clear weapons would be decisive
weapons.
Our main task with these nu-
clear weapons is to prevent wal
to deter all-out aggression.
believe that the more We i'm
prove and add to our nucleai
capability, the less chance there
Is that aggressors will start q
general war. Nevertheless. gen.
eral or total war remains the
greatest peril to us here in the
United States. Its prevention will
always be our number one pri-
ority task.
Since there is no evidence that
the Soviet bloc has abandoned
its aim of world domination. we
must, of course. be prepared
for the possibility that the Com
munists will pursue alternatives
short Of general war. The Sow
cts may continue to push their
schemes of aggression, perhaps
on a piecemeal basis.
Potential Trouble Spots
We are all aware Of the po-
tential trouble spots that exist
In many areas of the world to-
day. Armed conflict has occurred
IN some Of these. It could occur
again. In some cases. United
States interests would be direct
~ involved.
II new aggressor moves are
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