Evening star., 1961-08-07
Gogging the Military

This story begins with confidential
or private" memorandum sent by
Senator Fulbright to the White House
and the Defense Department-and then
leaked to sympathetic members of the
press, Its apparent purpose was to curb
participation by military officers in
privately sponsored seminars designed
to "alert" the American people to the
threat of communism. This curbing
effort seems to have met with some
success, which is hardly surprising in
view of Senator FulbrightiS influential
position as chairman of the Foreign
Relations Committee.
One unanticipated result, however,
has been the lighting of a vigorous
backfire by Senator Strom Thurmond,
Democrat of South Carolina. Somehow,
he got hold of a copy Of the memoran-
dunn, which Senator Fulbright had not
made available to his Senate colleagues.
Thus armed, the South Carolinian pro-
ceeded to read the riot act to his fellow
Democrat.
The memorandum, he said, is part
of concerted attack against the anti
Communist indoctrination of the Ameri-
can people and our troops-an attack
which was initiated by the Communist
Party of the United States. Then
training his fire more directly on the
Senator from Arkansas, Mr.. Thurmond
added: "The implication of this docu-
ment goes far beyond mere attack on
our military leaders; it constitutes a
clandeStine assault on the fundamental
foundations of our Republic. It is
smear campaign, utilizing innuendo
based on unSubstantiated allegations"
Senator Fulbright, after several
days Of silence, replied last Wednesday
Processing surprise at the Thurmond
reaction, he said the memorandum was
personal in nature and based on his
strong belief In the principle of mill
tary Subordination to civilian control"
He also indicated that he would have
given Senator Thurmond the memo
randum If the latter had not confronted
him with an ''ultimatum" demanding a
copy within the next hour" However
he added, in view of the controversy he
was submitting the memo for inclusion
in the Congressional Record.
AS with most such things, the Full
bright memorandum can be read diff
ferently by different people. It will
mean one thing to one person; some
thing else to another.
For our part, we do not think it can
possibly be read to mean that Senator
Fulbright is engaged in any assault,
clandestine or otherwise, on the founda-
tionS Of the Republic. 1t is quite obvious
that he is disturbed by what he con-
Siders to be improper military activity
At the same time, it is equally obvious,
or so 1t seems to us, that the memo
randum relies to some extent on innu-
endo, suggestion and what used to be
called guilt-by- y-asSociation to. support
generalized and unwarranted indict-
ment Of military participation in the
1ndoctrtnation sessions. With the notable
exception Of one retired rear admiral
the memorandum attributes no specific
abuse to a particular military man. The
specific complaints lie against private
individuals. Still, the memorandum says
this: There are many indications that
the philosophy of the indoctrination
programs is representative of a sub
stantial element of military thought,
and has great appeal to the military
mind. AS a generality this sounds rather
ominouS. But what, exactly, does
1t mean?
Senator Thurmond is strongly
urging that the Senate Armed Services
Committee investigate the use OF mill
tary personnel and facilities to arouse
the public to "the menace of the cold
war" Presumably he thinks such an
investigation would give the indoctrina-
tion programs clean bill Of health.
We doubt, however, that the committee
will want to undertake an inquiry
which, in effect, would be an investi-
cation of Senator Fulbright. At the
same time, we think the Defense Depart
ment should move with great care in
acting on the Fulbright memorandum.
No doubt there have been abuses, and
they should be corrected. But these
seminars, and certainly this is true of
those that we have observed, are not
aimed at subverting civil authority.
Their real purpose is to stimulate public
interest in reinforcing national security.
This is job that needs to be done, and
military people, If not gagged, can play
most useful part in getting it DONE.
MonIy Crusade