SESSION VI . 327 of peace, when all of the people are relaxed and celebrating the great success of peace, that's the day you'll get a surprise attack. HEMLER: Maybe that's the one criterion we should stick to in our readiness conditions! [Laughter] WARREN: Yes, a healthy military suspicion of a nation with nuclear bombs promoting exaggerated peace proposals, It's not the day to shut down our alert system, AYRES: What you say is not wholly unbelievable, but you are still talking about an attack by a much weaker power and they can never be absolutely sure they won't be found out. WARREN: Yes andno. It could be a strong power. AYRES: They certainly have very little hope of destroying us completely. So it's not like Cicero and Carthage. WARREN: China is in that situation, isn't it? Thy can't invade us without more preparation and yet there is every indication that they are getting ready for something. AYRES: There's every indication they are ready to deter people. That's about all. FREMONT-SMITH: interpretation, This is aninterpretation, It's not the only is it? AYRES: It's not the only interpretation but I would point out that they have left Hong Kong, Quemoy, and Matsu alone. FREMONT-SMITH: This would fit with Staff's opinion. AYRES: It's convenient for them to pretend that they are great enemies of the United States but, in fact, their immediate interests are on their borders, DOBSON: It seems to me that we have been talking about the likelihood of war. This is an extremely important issue. But would it not be even more pertinent for us to consider what the situation would be in the event a nuclear war actually occurred? Perhaps we shculd assume that a large war had started, or to make it easier, that something smaller had happened.