Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-12-17
Civil Defense Luqs


Tense program is we'll on the
way to realization that gives
this country not only over
whelming military power
but also, and vitality import
ant, a balancing Of its con-
stituent elements so as to
permit selectivity in its use
suited to the requirements of
any kind of crisis, local or
global. In short, our military
posture has now acquired the
necessary flexibility to make
it a realistic and effective
instrument Of foreign pol
icy.
l wish here to call partic-
ular attention to one phase Of
the defense program, among
others, dealt with by Sec
rotary Mcnamara in a re-
Gently published interview,
namely civil defense - not
because it is the most i'm
portant, but rather because
it is the most misunderstood
and neglected phase. For a
brief time the Cuban crisis
led to an upsurge of public
concern regarding fall out
shelters. But there does not
appear even yet to be a gen.
eral understanding of the
role Of civil defense as part
of a longer range defense
program to guarantee the Sc
curity of the United States
and the free world during the
critical decade through which
we are passing.
Too many Of our people
are prone to evade the issue
by assuming that nuclear
war cannot really happen be-
cause it is "unthinkable." or
that, If by remote chance it
should happen. we shall all
be doomed anyway. But a
prudent and responsible Sec
rotary of Defense must face
up squarely to the possible
ity, to quote the Secretary,
that "one side or the other
might use nuclear weapons.
In that case, the strike and
counter strike might be all
out. Or it might possibly be
confined to military targets.
In either case, civil defense
could be crucial. Even the
"no-cities doctrine" confin-
ing action to military tar
gets, the Secretary points
out, "only makes sense II it
is married to a serious fall
out shelter program. Other
wise, even if the cities were
left standing, the fatalities
from fall-out would be as
Economical"
Up to now public inertia.
abetted by the vocal, and
sometimes strident, opposi-
ton of many well-meaning
and patriotic but misguided
citizens, has made almost a
travesty of the civil defense
program. Effort lags and
achievement is far short Of
what 1t should be because,
apparently, the great major
ity Of our people even now,
since the Cuban crisis, do not
fully understand how civil
defense fits into and forms
an indispensable part Of a
comprehensive and properly
balanced program OF ma
tional defense. What they
need TO understand, first OF
all, is that in case Of nuclear
war a well-conceived and
well-administered civil de-
tense program could well
make the difference between
national survival and ma
tional extinction. Precisely
because OF this evidence Of
our determination and capac-
ity TO survive in numbers
sufficient TO recover and
TO restore our national life,
II ought also to be evident
though this point is feebly
challenged by some 49, that
civil defense would in itself
add materially TO the deter
rent power Of any we'll
rounded program Of national
defense. This second aspect
is something that seems TO
be almost universally over
looked.
Let us hope that the new
Congress will appropriate the
necessary funds for an ade-
quate civil defense program.
Lynn X. Edminster.
Former Special Assistant
10 the Secretary OF State
and former Vice Chairman.