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_MBER 25, 1954,
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Foreign Affairs
A Thermonuclear Christmas
and the Strategy of Terror
By C. L. SULZBERGER
PARIS, Dec. 24—-For the first time
at Christinag mankind is haunted by
the fear that it may utterly destroy
itself and by the belief that this is
rn
Scientifically possible. Subconscious M
—
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terror underlies any peace or gocd- le
will engendered by the customary
_ Spirit of this season.
There is Iittle doubt that the danger of a new world confHct has receded during recent moriths despite
bellicose Soviet atatements. Governments on both sides of the Iron Curtain seem More aware of the bleak
necessity for coexistence and diplomats are groping for a formula. But,
since the Eniwetok thermonuclear experiments last spring, a new peril has
been recognized. This jis the chance
that scientists, probing the unknown,
may yet wreck this lovely world
by rendering it uninhabitable, The
gloomy idea is being encouraged by
Communist propaganda seeking to
‘Jhamper further American arms experimentation. But the thought is not
limited to victims of such propaganda.
Communist efforts to atress dangers
inherent in atomic and hydrogen explosions coincide with widespread
fears already latent in Europe. —
Moscow's purpose is plain. “A picture is being delineated in which the
United State, is shown as a threat to
life itself. If public opinion can be
mobilized against the development of
American atomic weapons, the defenses of the free world will be menaced, So far, unfortunately, Washington has not taken into account
moratorium on further thermonuclear
explosions. Naturally, if the fright
already prevalent were to be given
impetus by distinguished statesmen,
the ultimate harm to the United
States and democratic defenses might
be serious. The Soviet blec has immense superiority in manpower and
conyentional armaments, If it could
overcome our. adyantage in superweenons if would he in a nnsitian to
en
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came within an ace, while he wag in
Aw
ie
The miscalculations in fall-out at
Eniwetok are now being exaggerated
and disseminated widely. Thig terrifying propaganda falls on fertile
ground. Even Churchill is much obsessed with death In the form of a
long cigar-shaped radiocative cloud
capable of obliterating the entire
United - Kingdom.
Mendés-France
the United States, of proposing a
oye wo
REPRODUCED AT THE DWIGHTD.
EISENHOWER LIBRARY
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A Receptive Audience
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counteract
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the need
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sufficiently
this propaganda. Inadequate information hag been made public to demonstrate how wrong is the implication
that our scientists are about to blow
up the earth,