aa -llldecision. % should perhaps be added that a policy of determent in regard to Russia has nothing to do with any imputation of aggressive or warlike motives. The gravest danger to us lies in the fact that without proper precautions on our part the Soviet Union might some day stumble into a war with us. Misjudging the sit- uation, the Russians might advance to a position from which it would be hard for them to retreat. They might decide to go through with the action they had started, believing that we would either not oppose them or, if we did, be incapable of doing them mich harm, From their point of view the same danger would present itself in a different Light, They would fear that if we did not regard the risks for us as being too great we might oppose by force action they were undertaking under the compulsion of vital necessities, Neither country has any reason to resent what the other may do to minimize the chances of an outbreak of Soviet-American hostilities which would be the greatest calamity imaginable for both of then SoS In the atomic age the threat of retaliation in kind is probably the stronzest single means of determent. m6 Therefd = the preparation of such retaliation must necessarily occupy a decisive place in any over-all policy of protection against the atomic danger, Neither we nor the Russians can expect to feel even reasonably safe unless an atomic attack by one will be certain to unleash a dev- astating atomic counter-attack by the other. However, once we are living under the threat of atomic attack, even the most reliable preparations for retaliation in kind may not prove sufficient to give us a sense of security. We are too much aware of the risks which the Nazi dictator was willing to take to feel satisfied that the Soviet leaders would under all circumstances shrink from sacri- ficing their cities. We may be doing them an injustice; the fact remains that only recently dictatorially ruled and dissatisfied nations took up arms at the risk of immense sacrifices, . They did so at a time when their rulers felt sure of ultimate victory and were willing to pay the price it required to attain it, ye