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Now I wonder how many of you people have read the full text of the Able trial,
the record of the trial of Mr. Able. Well, I think he was sentenced to thirty
years, Now, this business of saying that you're doing things that are
provocative, why, they had better look at their own record, And I'll tell you
this: The United States and noneof its allies that I know of has engaged in
nothing that would be considered honestly as provocative. We are looking to
our own security and our defense and we have no idea of promoting any kind
of conflict or war. This is just, it's absolutely ridiculous and they know it is.
Q Taylor, Scripps-Howard. Mr. President, sir, would it be trespassing on
your request about the U-2 to ask if you could tell us something about any
possible Soviet reconnaissance flights over the western part of the world, and
our response to them, if any?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I could just say this:
never been any over the United States.
© Holmes Alexander, McNaught Syndicate.
As far as 1 know, there has
Sir, this is a question about
CQuemoy and Matsu, and two of the Democratic candidates have said that if
elected they would try to get rid of that responsibility. I know you don't deal
in personalities, but I wonder if you could teil us, as a military man, to what
extent these islands help us control the air and sea over the Formosa Strait?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, Iam not talking personalities because I don't know
who said this, but I will say this: If you go back to the Formosa Doctrine, you
will find that the responsibility is placed upon the President to determine
whether, in the event of any attack upon Cuemoy and Matsu, whether this is in
fact a preliminary to or part of an attack against the Pescadores and Taiwan.
If that is true, then he must participate because then it will be the defense of
Formosa, one of our allies,
REPRODUCED AT THE DWIGHTD. EISENHOWER LIBRARY
Now, as to the actual value of Matsu and Quemoy, of course we must remeinber
how much this seems to mean to the morale of all the Chinese forces on
Formosa, From their viewpoint, any desertion of those islands means a
complete surrender, abject surrender. So it is a factor that anyone who
going to have to make possible decisions in the future has to take into
consideration when he talks about the abandonment of these sets of islands,
And frankly, no President of the United States can do it by himself,
Ne'w he can withhold support to Taiwan, but are you going to destroy Taiwan?
~. none of these problems is ever a simple, black and white thing. You have
‘4 very great number of conflicting considerations and they take study and
heairt searching, and you hope and pray that you are right most of the time.
* ‘Foberts, Washington Post, Last week, sir, you announced that the U. 5S.
‘nd resume underground nuclear testing for purposes of protecting the
le-*:tion and control system, There seems, however, to be some dispute as