Eisenhower Speaks His Mind

This story originally appeared in the November 11, 1966, issue of U.S.News & World Report.

Vietnam...nuclear weapons...the draft...welfare...crime..."Black power"...How does former President Dwight D. Eisenhower feel about the issues now dominating the U.S., and much of the world? Does he think America is on the right track?

In the exclusive interview on these pages General Eisenhower speaks his mind about the whole range of matters of public concern.

The ex-President was interviewed at the Eisenhower farm in Pennsylvania by Paul Martin of the staff of U.S. News & World Report.

GETTYSBURG, Pa.

1. The war in Vietnam "worries Americans more than anything else"; it has been "going on too long"; the time has come to employ the military strength necessary to bring this war to an "honorable conclusion."

2. There is a "dangerous trend" toward "monopoly political power" in the U. S. with a disintegration of the "two-party system" and increasing "worship" of a "strong man" concept of Government by an all-powerful Chief Executive.

3. Federal courts are embarked on a "serious trend" toward rewriting the Constitution by a series of judicial decisions; too many "lifetime" judges have been "sitting on the bench too long."

4. Government welfare programs of the "Great Society" are building up vast and inefficient bureaucracies, using taxpayers' money out of the Federal Treasury to "encourage and reward laziness and malingering" on the part of some people "who just want an easier living."

5. The draft should be reformed, with one year of "tough military training" for every 18-year-old youth, without exemptions or deferments, or escape into civilian programs such as the Peace Corps; training should include basic education for illiterates, and physical fitness for those with defects.

6. The growth of racial disorders and juvenile delinquency is a threat to the nation; "education and self-discipline are what we need."

7. Crime is a "real problem" and is "getting worse"; criminals who are repeaters commit most of the "serious crimes"; judges must give "proper sentences."

8. Military security is necessary, but there's no need to "waste money" supporting a "large standing army" that would be "useless in a major war."

9. NATO is still a good concept, and should be strengthened; the Russians have not abandoned the goal of world Communist domination; eventually, Red China may become our most serious problem.

The interview with General Eisenhower also covered a wide range of other subjects. What follows are the views of the former president in detail.

1. VIETNAM

On the U. S. role in Vietnam, General Eisenhower says "No one could hope more than I that the President will have a real success in winning the military war, so that we can give these people in Southeast Asia a better opportunity, better education, a better way of life."

However, General Eisenhower feels deeply that the idea has been allowed to develop in this country that we can fight the war in Vietnam as a sort of sideline activity of the Government, without interfering with any of our domestic comforts of "business as usual" at home.

This is where the General differs with policy planners advising the President. The disagreement is not over purpose, but the pace of military operations in Vietnam—the way the war has been conducted, not by fighting men in the field, buy by Government overseers in Washington.

Looking back over five years of growing U. S. military involvement in Southeast Asia, General Eisenhower notes that former President Kennedy made the decision to send in the first 15,000 combat troops in 1961-1962.

The war strategy has been one of "escalation" of American military forces, gradually raising the premium the Communists must pay for continuing their subversive warfare against the people and Government of South Vietnam.

"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:

"We are tending too much toward a One-party system in the United States. We are too close to a monopoly of political power in this country."

"That is one of the reasons I chose the Republican Party when people came after me to run for President back in the period 1946-1952. I thought we needed to restore some kind of equality of power between the two political parties."

"The easiest thing for me to do would have been to go the other way. For six out of the eight years of my Administration, I had to persuade my political opponents who controlled the Congress, to get anything done."

"If we have a rough equality between our two political parties, then anyone attempting to go to extremes is going to be blocked. But if we don't have balance in our political system, if the party in power stays in power too long—who is there is stop its excesses?"

3. COURTS

"I had always thought that the Supreme Court would protect us from excesses and extremism—but the Supreme Court today seems concerned with only one slant of political direction, the same that reigns in the executive offices. When this happens, we are in trouble. In the 1966 election, there is no greater objective for all Americans than to restore the regular balance of equality in the two political parties."

"Our experiment in self-government is still going on today, just as much as when the Founding Fathers first conceived of our form of democracy, the American Republic. The older I grow, the more certain I am that only by education can we really save our form of government."

"I read where members of the so-called intelligentsia, some professors, urge a strong President. They are deluding themselves, their readers, and everyone else, with this idea who will be concerned about doing things in a constitutional way, respecting the legislative and the judiciary. Yet some writers are beginning to worship this concept of 'strong man' government. This has a very serious connotation for America. It means autocracy in the long run."

"The centralization of power in Washington—when we talk about this, we must also consider the need to strengthen city and State government, to make it better. So you must argue for improvement in local government."

"These problems do exist—in health, education, welfare, and other things. They must be solved. But the closer you can bring the action to the local level—that is the best way to do these things."

4. WELFARE PROGRAMS

"All Americans are concerned with real need-where people are not getting a proper education, are not being fed and clothed properly," General Eisenhower continued.

"But we are getting the feeling today that we are not just taking care of the needy, but that we are acting unwisely to the extent that we are actually using the Federal Treasury to encourage and reward laziness and malingering. I would like to see more efficiency in determining who actually are the needy, and who it is that just wants to get an easier living."

"There are a lot of complaints that we have bad administration in these programs, that they are wasteful, that there are duplications of effort. Such programs should be started on a pilot basis; otherwise, you build up big bureaucracies and overheads, and you get nothing done."

"In our welfare programs, an effort should be made to make sure that the needy have proper support. But the idea of temporary relief seems to be giving way to a new idea that hard work is not the way to make a living, that you should look to the Government to take care of you."

"How are you going to get ahead in the world? By hard work—that was always the American way. But now, no longer do all our people take pride in good work well done. Some unions are causing this by setting maximum work quotas. Too many people depend on political influence in supporting candidates with particular theories on welfare, or the political power of the union."

"We are paying too much for this welfare in terms of self-reliance, courage, and devotion to freedom. When you talk about economic security, and neglect to talk about opportunity, you are destroying the pioneer spirit. I expect to see a swing away from all this one of these days, back to traditional values."

5. MILITARY SERVICE

Instead of the draft, the General said, "what we need is universal military training. We ought to have one year of compulsory military training for everyone—not the regular pay, just a few dollars—but one year of basic education. At age 18, this would encourage a lot of enlistments.

"Anyone who would rather enlist should be given the option. I wrote in a recent article about a two-year enlistment, but now I believe it should be three years if we are to have a real, regular, military force."

"There should be exemptions for no one. Anyone who is illiterate—we should give him additional duty and good teachers, and a year of basic education in the 'three R's'—reading writing and arithmetic. We should give physical fitness for people who are now being rejected with minor defects."

"I don't believe in finding make-work jobs for rejects—a choice of the Peace Corps, or some other Government service. What we need is good, tough, military training—and I am just as much concerned for the benefit of the youths as a whole as for the military service."

"It is just as much of a duty to learn 'how' to serve the country in case of need, as it is to serve. If you don't have men with sufficient education to know how to use or to prevent the use of nuclear weapons, then you are worse off than if you didn't have the weapons. We want a nation that is patriotic and improving itself. The nation is made up of spiritual, intellectual, economic, and military strength. We want to keep these values at a high level."

6. DEMONSTRATIONS

Asked about student protests, campus morals and current behavior of young people, General Eisenhower said:

"The spirit of rebellion is rather healthy in young people. But rebellion must accept the guidelines of civilization—honesty, decency, monogamy, virtue in sexual relations. We found it necessary of protect the family, because the family is the basic unit of society. If we had a storm of illegitimacy, what we would wind up with would be anarchy."

"I talk to college students from time to time. These young people are just as concerned about these matters as you or I. I think some young people feel they have to demonstrate, wear their hair long and call attention to themselves because they are suffering from and inferiority complex. They have to make themselves seen and heard in some way. They are gaining headlines—but they are creating an image of American youth that is false."

"People come in and want my views. I'm particularly encouraged by the attractiveness and personality of the young people who come to see me. Some are young men running for Congress. They have a mission and a dedication. I encourage them to carry the truth as they see it to the country. The fate of our country, really, depends on education."

"Black Power"

General Eisenhower was asked about racial demonstration and the slogan "black power." "No one has defined what it means," he observed. "If it means using legitimate voting power—that's one thing. If it means reckless, destructive, power by force—that's something else.

"Free government is nothing but an opportunity for the exercise of self-discipline. If we don't do those ourselves, then someone is going to do it for us, a strong central agency. If we do not exercise self-discipline, we will be inviting a Hitler, or someone like him.

"We have got to have enough people who understand this in America, so that there is no question that the laws will be enforced."

7. CRIME

On the crime question, General Eisenhower said this:

"Crime is a real problem in this country, and it is getting worse. The problem is how to deal with criminals who are paroled or suspended. They are the ones who commit most the serious crimes in the country."

"Judges have to give proper sentences, and not be subject to influence. I have come to the point where I do not believe in lifetime judges. I don't want to reduce their independence, but I don't think they should stay forever."

"With life expectancy getting into high figures, we have too many judges who have been sitting on the bench too long. This is serious, because there has been a trend toward rewriting the Constitution by a series of judicial decisions."

"We have got to punish people for excessive speeding, and killing other people on the streets and highways. Self-discipline is what we need. We must teach this across the board in the press, in the schools, at home, in the churches, in Government. It must be some kind of movement."

"Today, people scoff at the word 'crusade.' But a great force brought on the Crusades-a great belief. What we have to do in America is generate a great belief in democracy. One of the things it demands is respect for law and order."

"If we can achieve this self-discipline, this self-government, then all the rest of our problem will take car of themselves."

8. SECURITY VS. ECONOMY

The former President is annoyed by popular writers who stress personality rather than achievement in Government, and history professors who write about his Administration "by quoting other professors," rather than going directly to officials who served in the Eisenhower Administration.

"They write that I put a 'balanced budget' above security," General Eisenhower observed. "Well, let me tell you this—I'm the only President in the history of the United States who went before Congress and said this is one time we are not going to disarm, not after this war."

"Actually, I think the neglect of our defenses at the end of World War II was one of the major causes of the Korean War. After Korea, no American was killed in combat during my Administration, although we had to prevent Communist efforts to take over in Iran, Guatemala, Lebanon, the Formosa Strait, and South Vietnam."

"A balanced budget is necessary, especially in time of prosperity, but I certainly didn't neglect security."

"I decided that we were not going to waste money just raising the kind of large standing army that would be useless in a major war—that we would rely on the nuclear deterrent, and have the kind of standing forces we needed to take care of brushfires. And that is what we did."

9. WORLD AFFAIRS

The former President was asked about foreign affairs—the outlook in Europe, where he served as Supreme Commander of the NATO military alliance in 1950-52, in the Soviet Union, and in Asia. The General made these observations:

EUROPE

"The outlook in Europe is worrisome. Europeans have lost some of their fear of a major Communist invasion. The Europeans are more willing to indulge themselves today."

"Just because one country is defecting, or abandoning NATO, is no reason for us to do the same. NATO is still a good concept; it gives the Atlantic community a place to discuss its problems. Our efforts toward keeping NATO effective should be increased."

However, General Eisenhower has always believed that the six U. S divisions assigned to NATO in 1950 were for "emergency purposes." He thinks we should keep some U.S. troops in Europe as an earnest of our readiness to be committed to any defensive war from the outset, but that the American ground force does not need to be too strong.

The General pointed out the NATO countries of Western Europe—even without France—are equal to the population of the U. S. "We in the United States are providing the great nuclear deterrent strength of NATO, the major navy for all the West, and the major air force," he said.

"It would appear that, so far as ground forces are concerned, we should not have to supply any more than just enough to make sure that all of Europe understands that we are not reneging on our treaty obligations."

SOVIET UNION

"Soviet leaders have not abandoned their goal of Communist domination of the world. But they seem to have come to a conclusion that all-out war and military force—in a nuclear age—is not the way to go about it."

Mr. Eisenhower recalled that former Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev told him at Camp David in 1959 that a major war between the U. S. and the U.S.S.R. would mean "mutual suicide." The Soviet strategy now apparently is to use every other method, short of military means, to bring about Communist control of the world.

RED CHINA

"In the long run, Asia may become our most serious foreign problem," General Eisenhower continued. "If Red China continues to develop destructive power, and remains dedicated to world revolution by naked force, then it is a problem that will have to be handled one of these days—and it is not going to be pleasant.

"The hope is that as a nation gains in wealth, as it gets more consumer goods, then it tends to become more cautious, in order to protect its investment. Some say this has happened in Soviet Russia. This is possibly true. If Red China dedicates everything, not to developing the welfare of its own people but to a doctrine of world revolution by force, then it will be a serious problem.

OUTLOOK FOR 1968

Former President Eisenhower refuses to engage in any discussion of presidential candidates for 1968. He says of the two men most talked about for the Republican nomination—Richard M. Nixon and George W. Romney—"these are very fine men. I could support either with great enthusiasm."

But Mr. Eisenhower adds that he would like to see—just as he said in 1956, and 1960, and 1964—more young men coming into prominence in the Republican Party. He would like to have a party so rich in respected leaders that it could look to any one of a dozen persons for the Presidency.

The General feels that the press, politicians, and radio-TV commentators are making too much out of adjectives—such as "liberal" or "moderate" or "conservative"—and paying too little attention to actual problems.

"We ought to grade people in politics on the basis of where they stand on issues, or problems," he says. If you did, he thinks you wouldn't find much difference between the views of various Republicans on these problems.

The former President commented: "When I look back on what I had to do during eight years in office, I don't know whether I'm a liberal, or a conservative, or what. There are certain basic truths on which our Government is founded, and you have to use common sense in dealing with different problems as they arise."