Eisenhower Speaks His Mind

"I do not believe in 'gradualism' in fighting a war," General Eisenhower declared. "I believe in putting in the kind of military strength we need to win and getting over with as soon as possible."

"The war should have first priority over everything else. When we get to the stage that we are losing American lives, then we need to view the war as a far more serious problem than going to the moon, or any domestic welfare programs, or anything else."

"The casualties in this war are getting to be considerable. Every family in the United States is affected one way or another. Every private citizen should be involved, and realize that he has a personal stake in the war."

The five-star general receives regular reports from the Pentagon on military operations. He is consulted by President Johnson. General Eisenhower says he does not have a "formula" for ending the war—"no one can solve this problem, except those who are living with it every day."

General Eisenhower has the highest regard for military personnel in the field in Vietnam. He says Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the American commander, is "terrific—there's nothing too good I could say about him." General Eisenhower adds:

"When your man in the field says how much strength he needs, so long as we are in a war, there should be no hesitancy in giving it to him."

The former President feels there is no fundamental disagreement in America over purposes and objectives of the war, although "some so-called 'doves' in Congress apparently see the United States as having no responsibility to defend freedom and self-determination of small nations around the world."

On the contrary, General Eisenhower says most Americans believe "freedom is indivisible—if we allow other people to lose their freedom, without doing anything about it, then we have lost some freedom of our own."

"We are not trying to gain for the United States any more power, wealth, or territory anywhere in the world," he points out. "It is simply a matter of protecting freedom wherever it exists."

The question, then, is not one of policy—but conduct of the war. Have we been going at it the way we should? General Eisenhower feels there has been too much of a political tendency to ease into the war gradually, without declaring a national emergency, calling up the reserves, or sounding any general alarm. "It hasn't worked," he declared.

When his advice was sought several years ago, General Eisenhower said in effect: Don't delay. Don't procrastinate. If you are going to do this, then summon all necessary military strength, do what you must do quickly, and get it over with. Don't give the enemy time to build up his own strength, and disperse his military targets. But this advice went unheeded by the Administration. Now, General Eisenhower says, "the war has been going on too long, and something has to be done to bring it to an honorable conclusion."

Nuclear Deterrent

General Eisenhower has neither called for, nor rejected, the possibility of using atomic weapons in Asia. However, he feels the theory of "nuclear deterrent" power has been widely misunderstood. It could be stated this way:

The principle of "nuclear deterrence" depends, not only on how much atomic weaponry you possess and what you intend to do with it, but also on what the enemy thinks you might have, and what he thinks you might to do with it.

Thus, if the enemy is convinced that you are committed against using nuclear power under any circumstances, then your advantage no longer has any "deterrent" value—no matter how many atomic weapons you may possess.

2. POLITICAL POWER

The Former President stated these political views: