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Show November Tin: JOURNAL 4 THE ENEMY IN KOREA AT AWAY HAMMER MARINES AIRPOWER AND MORALITY By EUGENE E. WILSON Some of the most brilliant minds in the Department of Defense are reported to be asking: Is our strategy right? They are said to question the wisdom of a military policy which places almost sole dependence upon population bonlb-ing- . Wilbur Wright died regretting that he helped to create the airplane. For he saw it used, not primarily as the dreamed of argosy of commerce, but as the fiery chariot of war. Discovery of the principles of mechanical flight touched off a resurgence of barbarism and a return to military policies so bankrupt as to threaten the survival of civilization. Indiscriminate bombing of civilian populations is poor strategy, false economics, bad politics and worse morals Stupid leadership has brought western Christian civilization to the verge of extinction. Lacking the directive force of moral precept, it has been unable to define .any long-terobjective, political or otherwise, or any military strategy other than that of destroying everything within its path. This was the strategy of Genghis Khan and of the Dark Ages. Future historians may well adjudge population and strategic bombing as the classic blunder of all time. And the climax of this folly, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, may have revealed such irreverence for human life on our part as to have cost Us the moral leadership of the world. Despite our air superiority or, more precisely, because of its misuse our civilization, once considered the loftiest in evolu-itoof the human spirit, now stands on the defensive. Our vauted material superiority, flanked right and left and breached in the center by hordes of Asiatics, has begun to assume some aspects of the Maginot line. Threat of an atomic stockpile dwindles as a deterrent to a barbaric enemy who refuses to oblige us with suitable tactical targets, to say nothing of the inviting strategic objectives which we offer him. A sterile air policy has infected our military and naval policy and our foreign and domestic policies as well. Dread of such an outcome long pervaded aviation circles. Bitter controversy has raged ever since that December day in 1903 at Kittyhawk when the Wrights demonstrated mechanical flight. One school, led by the Wrights, visualized the airplane as primarily a vehicle and thus a potential boon to civilization. The other, led by the military, saw it as a revolutionary weapon. The original prophet of population and stragetic bombing was the Italian General Guilio Douhet. As early as 1909, he tried to interest his government in the potentiality of to air bombardment of urban areas as a cheap short-cu- t power. In 1921, he said in his book, Command of the Air, that a body of troops will stand fast under intensive bombings but workers in a shop, factory or harbor will melt away m n after the first losses. the fartihat Respite Koya, .lackey ConmSst'posItlons in the Korean hills. (Deense Department Photo frpm International) bamgaKaJnst" 'ha, BEEN no in the other fellow. Layton Man Arrives For Korea Duty Then would come the opportunity sensed by the Wrights at the dawn of this century. Just as the Berlin airlift reversed the role of the bombing blitz, so might airlift come to its own as the catalyst for a new era comparable to that which began with the geographic discoveries of the Fifteenth Century. Here 1!TH FIGHTER - BOMBER Pax Aeronautica might replace Pax Britannica, and therein WING, KOREA Cpk Richard R. lies one example of hope in the air. Barker of Layton, Utah, has ai-riv- Authors of SPOTLIGHT articles are free to express their individual opinions and viewpoints. These are a personal expression, r.ot necessarily expressions of the viewpoint or policy of the Committee for Constitutional Government, Inc. ed in Korea for duty with the 4!th Fighter-BombWing as driver in the Motor Vehicle section of the Wing. As a driver he will bring in the medical supplies, food, - er clothing and parts for the Thunderjets of the 4ith. Barkers brother, Capt. Phillip U. Barker is stationed with the Army at Fort Riley, Kansas. 4 The Thunderjets of the Forty-niner- s recently completed their 2.",(K)Oth combat sortie against the North Korean and Chinese Communist supply lines, aimoied equipment and other installations. Barker is the son of Mr. and Mis. Wasatch Van 0. Barker of J Utah. Drive, Layton, F-- M F-s- e fhr Hiram Walker qualify oU-ffm- This doctrine found ready acceptance among military minds of an era which produced Balbo and Mussolini, Goering and Hitler. And disciples continued to preach it even after experience proved otherwise. Citizens of London, Berlin, Tokyo and other cities not only failed to melt away but reat Hiroshima acted with fanatical resistance. The appeared to support the theory, but it is now known that the Japanese had already decided to surrender to pressure of sea blockade. Sober second thought now suggests that blockade might have been more efficient in the long run. Certainly, it would have been more economical because we are still pouring out treasure to rebuild institutions we battered down. One thing is clear: neither our natural allies nor our late enemies relish the idea of being liberated by our atom bomb tactics. The Russians exploit our lapse, claiming that their use of military aircraft is confined to tactical support of ground forces and that instead of threatening to use atomic bombs against civil populations, they apply atomic energy to the construction of public works. Thus does godless leadership exploit to its own advantage precepts of western Christianity which the West has forgotten. Grandmother Russia puts on a good act in the international Red Riding Hood drama, while we have let ourselves be cast in the role of the villain. In placing sole dependence on the explosive force of an uncontrolled weapon, we have neglected the most potent force in our possession the catalyst of moral principle. To get back into character, we must first reassert adherence to principles of human conduct which made us what we are. For example, we might announce our intent to ban the use of all weapons against civil populations and confine their use to legitimate military targets. This is not the usual impractical suggestion of outlawing weapons or of limiting armaments, but rather a return to their proper employment. Such a program takes for granted maintenance of a military air force capable of effective reprisal against a potential disturber of peace. It calls for a Statement of fundamental national objectives which should be publicly debated and supported. First requisite is restoration of individual freedom, especially in trade, and this implies freedom of movement to all, by land, sea and air. Under this doertine, the mission of armed forces would once more become that of guaranteeing the security of trade routes. Then, just as the Great Chinese wall crumbled beneath the feet of private traders, backed by Britains benevolent sea' power, so would the Iron Curtain rise one day to welcome the western ideal of a fair break for the offensive in A-bo- Ready For Battle GRINNING confidently, Sen. Robert A. Taft, of Ohio, makes with the boxers traditional salute after he formally announced that he is a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. Speaking to more than 100 newsmen, he said he was sure that he wopld be the GOPs selection in the next election. (International Souniphoto) |