ON CENSORSHIP IN A COLD WAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP67-00318R000100780035-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 17, 2013
• Sequence Number: 35
• Publication Date: May 3, 1961
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/05/17: CIA-RDP67-00318R000100780035-5
1
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CHRONIC Y'
Circ.: m. 225,429
S. 276,473
In a Cold mar
On Censorship
IT IS CERTAIN President Kennedy's concept of a
voluntary censorship by American newspapers
in the present crisis would not work, even more cer-
tain it would be a grave curtailment of the rights and
freedoms of the people if it were attempted.
The concept as the President advanced it is
formless in an immense sort of
way, and his effort. to equate the
current world struggle with open
warfare is unrealistic.
Even in open warfare censor-
ship is a difficult problem. In the
Civil War it devolved on the army
commanders, who were not very
successful at it. In the wars of our
century the government has had
a fairly workable legal control o'der military news.
The newspapers also exercised voluntary censor-
ship, but consider this case: two battleships collided
in the Pacific, putting them out of commission for
awhile. This was. clearly censorable, and no news
stories appeared, 'but the whole San Francisco wa-
terfront knew it in 24 hours.
IN OPEN WARFARE there are clear-cut cases
where unwarranted publication can cause heavy
loss of life, even failure of a battle or campaign.
But in cold war, so-called, there is no standard
for judging if a given circumstance or development
is one impairing the national security. There are
manifest cases in a cold war, but many more which
are not manifest.
The United States ',has sufficient law and regula-
tion to deal with manifest cases, for instance, in the
research and development of certain weapons sys-
tems at certain stages. Mr. Kennedy's men classify
this information, and quite justifiably. Rn. , hp
yoouyclas iiy the information ghat Central Irate ~igence
Agency made a hell of a mess in the Cuban landing?
As in the case of the battleships, the ?Whale "M1 mi
waterfront knew all about it.
LET US SUPPOSE there had been an almost
total volunt sqp p hip in the Q , ,
who would benefit-CIA, the United States; Lirimr'i-
can prestige or the A t erican people?
First, you don't benefit by a cover-up of error.
You are cemented in error. Goering assured Hitler in
a cold war stage he could destroy Britain from the
air. Did the Luftwaffe, the German people, or even
Hitler benefit fro m this error?
The President says he does not.seek to suppress
dissent. But unhappily for him-err, any President-
dissent in the form of questioning :judgment and pol-
icy is at the heart of large areas of national and
world news. Dissent comes in many grades, from the
outrageously unjust to ' right-me=tre-nose. Yet much
of it is the very stuff =: and right of
self-government. Anynt&bsive=silehae as to the reali-
ties we face in the world and, history is a negation of
all we have ever stood for, and a desertion to the
camp of blind authoritarianism.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2013/05/17: CIA-RDP67-00318R000100780035-5