Evening star., 1961-11-12
By JOHN WHEELER
North American Newspaper Alliano,

49,
best of health and spirits and
is leading a busy life. He is an
early riser and is in his Gettys-
burg office by 10 minutes of
eight every morning. He does
not give personal interviews and
does not want to be quoted di-
rectly. However, he has no OBJ
lection to background stories,
as he describes them.
Therefore, any patient and
diligent reporter, who is a good
listener, can get a sound idea
Of his views.
First, it is clear he desires
to support President Kennedy
and not criticize him on his
policies, especially those dealing
with the foreign situation. He
does not want to be a second
: guesser. but he does reserve the
( right to differ with the admin
istration after events have be-
Z come history or when he thinks
the President is wrong on do:
mestic matters.
On Cuban Plan
He felt that the Cuban plan
was a good one, but he was
unhappy that it was not sue
cessful as are most Americans
including the President. Prep
arations were started during
his administration, but no plan
Of operation had been devised.
The work comprised merely the
collecting and training of
refugees in camps. The military
plan was developed after he
left the White House. He feels
that, If the United States were
going to support the invasion.
those in charge should have
made sure Of its success.
He does not point his finger
at any one man as being re-
sponSible for its failure, since
he does not know enough about
what went on behind the
scenes.
He is a little sensitive about
the U-2 spy plane incident, but
feels sure he was right in the
course he took. When these
planes went on their flights
depended on the weather, be-
cause there was no use making
one If the cloud cover prevented
photography. He probably did
not know the exact date on
which Powers took off on his
disastrous trip which ended in
his capture. He believes the
pilot had been carefully
screened by the CIA before he
was hired. Those who sup
ported this project did not feel
there was much risk involved.
The flights had been going on
successfully for 36 months or
more.
Rejected Theory
Most of Gen. Eisenhower's
advisers thought that even If
a plane should be shot down,
the Russians would not ac-
knowledge publicly the spying
had been taking place. This
theory did not appeal to him,
and it turned out he was right
in his conclusion, although he
points out the Russian people
still have not been told of the
latest series Of atomic tests.
Another protection against
being caught was an automatic
device in the airplane which
would destroy it completely and
kill the pilot If hit or it fell
below a certain altitude. This
evidently did not work. Gen.
Eisenhower realized the project
was q great gamble, but felt
the results warranted the risk.
Mr.. Khrushchev knew about
over-flights when he was in
the United States and stayed
with Gen. Eisenhower at Camp
David. He mentioned them, but
did not seem to be par
ticularly indignant. After the
U-2 plane and its pilot, Capt.
Gary Powers, were captured,
Gen. Eisenhower believed he
had to acknowledge he was
aware Of this project, otherwise
the American people would be-
lieve he was asleep at the
switch and did not know what
was going on. This was his
own decision and was not due
to the advice of any of his
advisers. He still stands by it.
Khrushchev's Excuse
After Mr.. Khrushchev had
gone to India and received a
cool reception, following Mr..
Eisenhower'S own successful
tour, there was no doubt he
wanted to withdraw his invita-
ton for a visit to Russia and
to break up the summit con-
ference. The U-2 gave him an
excuse which he grabbed.
When he was in the United
States, the Premier and Gen. Eli
senhower got along fairly we'll.
One day during his stay at
Camp David he expressed a de-
sire to drive around the coun-
tryside, and the President went
with him. He let the Soviet
leader do the talking while he
listened. Mr.. Khrushchev, of
course, expressed confidence in
his government. He estimated
that the military efforts of
Russia and the United States
were about equal and thought
that their costs were about half
the amount the United States
put annually into its defense.
Mr. Khr1Ishchev TALKED about.