ISRAEL A NATION TOO YOUNG TO DIE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 11, 2004
• Sequence Number: 47
• Publication Date: July 31, 1967
• Content Type: OPEN

~ipproved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
July 31, Y967 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -HOUSE
a leader who would rath@r light one can-
dle, than curse the darkness.
President Johnson has asked the Na-
tion-black and white citizen, majority
and minority-to light many candles of
peace, law and order, friendship, oppor-
tunity, and reconciliation.
The riots were condemned as they
must be.
The violence was deplored as it must
be. No one, said the President, will be re-
warded for violence. The President made
it clear that only a minority of citizens
were involved, and that the majority of
the Negro community itself suffered the
most from the riots and disturbances.
He made it deal`, and I agree with him
wholeheartedly, that peace cannot be
maintained with the muzzle of a gun.
If civil peace, and law and order do not
emerge from the hearts of a people, then
that people is in trouble.
In the same vein, if equal rights and
equal opportunity do not spring from the
inner feelings of a people-and must be
guaranteed only by laws-then a society
founded on justice and right fs also in
trouble.
There are already those who call for
cutting down urban and domestic oppor-
tunity programs-as the President in-
ferred.
There are already those saying we have
done too much to help the poor and the
minorities.
But we have really not even begun to
mount programs sufficient to meet the
needs of our people in the BOth century.
Rather than cut back on programs, we
must move ahead and fund them. with
even greater resources.
I know the Nation will respond to the
President's call for reconciliation acid
solutions.
I know that we will not seek scape-
goats. Rather, we will seek new means to
prevent riots, new roads to cooperation,
law and order, opportunity and progress.
I commend the President for his frank
and honest appeal to the hearts of his
countrymen.
CITY WILL MISS SHERMAN, HUNT
(Mr. FULTON off' Tennessee (at the
request of Mr. MONTGOMERY) was granted
permission to extend his remarks at this
point in the RECORD and to include ex-
traneous matter.)
Mr. FULTON of Tennessee. Mr. Speak-
er, my congressional district and my
home city lost a dedicated public servant,
and I have lost a valued friend and ,
advisor.
Mr. Sherman M. Hunt, Jr., who was
serving his third term as a member of
the Metropolitan-Nashville-Davidson
CGUnty Council, had survived military
careers in both World War II and the
Korean war, where he served as a special
agent with the U.S. Air Force.
He has served as executive officer for
the Tennessee Air National Guard until
being totally blinded by a gun accident
in 1960,
For many persons, faced with the re-
sponsibilities of a growing family and
who had led an active professional and
civil life, such a handicap could have
been a shattering experience resulting
fn withdrawal from active participation
in community life.
But for Mr. Hunt it was a challenge.
He was first elected to the council in
1961, and his courage and dedication in
not only overcoming his handicap but
in surpassing his past accomplishments
stand as a tribute to him.
In 1964, when he made an unsuccessful
bid as the Democratic candidate for
sheriff, Mr. Hunt made a comment which
should be studied by every public service.
when he said:
You can't stand still or you'll fall behind
and I like to be part of a progressive move-
ment, moving ahead simultaneously with
progress and contributing something.
Those of us who knew him fully realize
that his contributions made our city a
better place in which to live.
I share with his widow and his three
sons a deep sense of personal loss.
The sentiments of a city are expressed
in a editorial carried by the Nashville
Tennessean, which I submit for inclusion
in the RECORD as a memorial to this civic
leader:
CTTY WILL MISS SHERMAN HUNT
Nashville has lost a valued citizen in the
untimely death at 44 of Mr. Sherman M.
Hunt Jr., a member of the Metro Council
from the eighth district.
A native of the -city, Mr. Hunt had out-
standing careers as a military officer and as
a public official. He was a veteran of World
War II and Korea, serving in the later con-
flict as especial agent for the U.S. Air Force's
Office of Special Investigation.
Mr. Hunt served as executive officer of
the Tennessee Air National Guard until he
was blinded by a gun accident in 1960. De-
spite the handicap, he was elected to Coun-
cil the following year. He was serving his
third term at the time of his death.
In his service with Council, Mr. Hunt
earned areputation as swell-informed and
capable legislator. He was active in his
church, Boy Scout work and other civic
activities.
The city will miss the presence of such
a conscientious public servant who contrib-
uted so much of himself to his commu-
nity. (~ M~
/"
ISRAEL-A NATION TOO YOUNG TO
DIE
(Mr. BINGHAM (at the request of Mr.
MONTGOMERY) was granted permission
to extend his remarks at this point in
the RECORD and to include extraneous
matter. )
Mr. BINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, for Look
magazine, Mr. James A. Michener has
written a thoughtful and vivid article on
the background of the recent Arab-
Israel war and on the importance now
of wiping away the fantasies that still
seem to prevent the Arab world from
facing up to realities. Mr. Michener's
article, entitled "Israel-A Nation Too
Young To Die," follows:
ISRAEL-A NATION TOO YO'ONG TO DIE
I remember when I first became aware of
the unnatural tension under which the citi-
zens of Israel have been obliged to live since
the establishment of their nation in 1948. I
had come to the seaport city of Haifa to do
research on a book, and for well over a year,
I stayed there, probing the various libraries
at my disposal.
Almost every week, and often three or four
times a week, my morning paper carried the
H 9643
news that one or another leading Arab poli-
tician, and not infrequently a head of state
of one of the neighboring Arab countries,
had announced his intention of leading an
army that would "push the Jews of Israel
into the sea," or that would "wipe them off
the face of the earth," or perhaps, "strangle
them forever." I suppose that the threats
occurring during the time I worked in Israel
totaled well over a hundred.
They came from more than ahalf-dozen
countries, some as far away as Algeria and
Morocco, whose preoccupation wi#h Israel I
could not understand. They did not come, so
far as I remember, from Lebanon or Jordan,
which have common boundaries with Israel.
Especially appalling to me were the five
different times when some Arab head of state
announced that he was going to blow up the
city in which I sat working. I took even those
threats without panic, for I have seen a good
deal of war and bombing and do not frighten
easily, but I must admit that when the Arab
leaders narrowed down their target to the
hotel in which I was sitting, and when on
two occasions they gave a specific timetable
for dispatching their rockets, I felt shivers
run up my spine.
I lived for more than a year under those
constant threats. I neutralized them by say-
ing, '`I'm free to leave Israel when I like. I
have no personal attachments and no re-
sponsibility." But what must have been the
accumulated anxiety for the head of a grow-
ing family in Haifa who heard these threats
each week, not for one year but for nineteen2
What must have been his feelings if he knew
that he' could not leave the threatened coun-
try, that he had a responsibility both to his
family and to his nation?
Israel's apprehension was not a paper one.
In addition to the threats, there were con-
stant incursions into Israel, constant shoot-
ings across the borders, constant intrusions
by groups as large as squadrons or small
companies. If I went to do some research on
the old synagogue at Korazim, I was some-
what taken aback to find that one day later, a
pitched battle had been fought there and
two Israeli civilians had been killed. If I went
on a picnic to the Sea of Galilee, I was a bit
shaken whin two days later, there was a
bombardment of Israeli boats. If I visited the
kibbutz at Dan and waded upstream to the
cool spring that forms one of the headwaters
of the River Jordan, I was frightened to learn
that, shortly before, a man had been lost do-
ing that. And when I moved to Jerusalem, to
work in the libraries there, I was sorrowful
when children told me I must not walk down
this' alley by the Persian synagogue; gunfire
had been coming in from the rooftops only
50 feet away,
And wherever I went, whether to Haifa, or
to Korazim, or the Galilee, or Beersheba,
there was the constant dinning in my ears of
the threat, reiterated week after week, "We
are going to destroy you. We are going to
push you into the sea." The history of Israel
is the history of ordinary people living ordi-
nary lives under the incessant repetition of
that threat, backed up by gust enough Arab
military activity to prove that the threat
might be put into action at any moment.
To understand the problem of Israel, the
outsider must imagine himself living lIi
Washington, D.C., and reading each morning
that neighbors in Baltimore and Alexandria
have again threatened to blow Washington
off the face of the earth and to push all
Washingtonians into the Potomac. The
threat, mind you, does not come from across
the Atlantic or Pacific. It comes Prom a few
miles away. And to prove the reality of the
threat, actual military adventures occur from
time to time, taking the lives of random
Washingtonians.
What chance would you say there was for
the citizens of Washington to go on indefi-
nitely ignoring such behavior? This article
Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
 H 9644
Approved For Release`2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R00020030004f=0
CONGRES,iIONA:L RECORD -- HGU~:E J~;ly 31, 1967
22 May 1966, Chief of-State Al-Attassi: "We
raise the'slogan of the people's liberation
war. We want total war with no limits, a
war that will destroy the Zionist base."
24 May 1988, Syrian Defense Minister Hafez
Assail: "We say: We shall never call for,
nor acce~lt peace.... We have resolved to
drench tide land with our blood, to oust you,
aggressors, -and throw you into the sea for
good.,,
i6 Tulf 1988, Premier Yousef Zouayen:
"The popular liberF~tion war which the Pales-
tinian masses, backed. by the Arab masses
in the v hole Arab homeland, have deter-
mined tni wage, will foil the methods of
Israel ani those behind it. We say to Israel:
Our reply :will be harsh and St will pay
dearly."
It mui:t be remembered that the above
quotatio~as come from a period of relative
stability along the Syrian-Israeli frontier.
In the s lcceeding nine months, from Sep-
tember, 7 986, throrrgh May, 1967, or just be-
fore the outbreak of armed hostilities, both
the tempo and the inflammability increased.
In those weeks when Syria was not threaten-
in?; to c estroy Israel, the heads of other
Arab nations were.. During my stay in Israel,
I believe all the Arabs states, excepting Jor-
dan and. Lebanon, made specifle announce-
ments tl'. a.t they were preparing a war that
would dr.ve Israel into the sea.
'T'his constant ir..cendiary barrage came to
a climax itt May cf 1987, when war against
Israel ha i pretty well been agreed upon, and
perhaps that accounts for the exaggerated
quality cf these statements:
25 Ma;~ 1967, Cairo radio, in a broadcast
to all Arab countries: "The Arab people is
firmly resolved to wipe Israel off the map."
26 Mai 1967, Pra>sident Gamal Abdel Nas-
ser of E~ ypt: "Ou:^ basic aim will be to de-
stroy Isr:.eI:"
26 Ma;~ 1967, th.e leader of the Palestine
Liberation Organi:aatian, Ahmed Shukairy:
"D-day is ' approaching. The " Arabs have
waited 11 years for this and will not flinch
from the war of liberation"
29 Mss--1867, the same Mr. Shukairy: "The
struggle has begun at the Gulf of Aqaba
-and will ehd at the Bay of Acre:'
30 Ma;f 1967, Cairo radio: "Faced by the
blockade of the Clulf of Aqaba, Tarsal has
two cho.ca3s, both- of which are drenched
with Israel`s blood: Either it will be strangled
by the ~! cab militarry aY;d economic siege or
it will b 3 killed by the bullgts of the Arab
armies s~lrrounding it from the South, from
the Norte and from the East."
1 June .1967, the corxrmander of the Egyp-
tian Air Force on Egyptian television: "The
Egyptian forces ap:rsad-from Rafah to Sharm
el Sheik are ready for the order to begin the
struggle to which we have looked forward so
long."
Now, I srfppose that a logical man ought to-
reason: "If the loaders of the Arab states
confine Their tlire:rte to verbalisms, no mat-
ter how virulent, the citizens of Israel
should adjust to the situation, for obviously
the Arabs are using words in a way that
need no; be taken seriously." Speaking for
myself, :after my initial weeks of shock, I
began tar dismiss the blasts against Israel
as bomb:~st.
tried to quiet any inner fears and become
adjusted o this 1:ncessant barrage of verbal
threats, '>ut my abllity to live with them did
not mea:i that I was immune to them. Not
at all. Fir"whether I liked it or not, I was
living ui:der an act of aggression. That it was
psycholo;ical rather than physical made it
the morECin~idious. Ibegan to find that, al-
though in public I dismissed the threats as
evidence;i of temporary insanity on the part
of those who made them, when I was alone,
I ]zed to worry about them. Against my will,
I found myself concluding, "If -Syria and
Egypt ar d Iraq and the others keep on mak-
ing such threats, they must in the end do
s~methi;ig about them. Aird ii Israelis con-
tinue to hear these threata> week after week,
they must in the end accept them as real
and they, too, will have to act upon them."
In this way, not only were the :airwaves pol-
luted, not only was all intercourse between
nations contaminated and all chances of
peaceful coexistexrce frustrated, but the psy-
chological processes of both-those who made'
the threats and those who received them,
was slowly and painfully corroded until both
Arab and Jew knew that war was inevitable.
On one visit to Jordan, which was one of the
least psychotic areas, I tallied with 16 young
Arabs, and all said they longed for the day
when they could march wii;h the Arab armies
into Israel and wipe it o:Ff the face of rthe
earth. In Egypt, I found attitudes the same.
And what was anost .regrettable, in Israel,
where I knew thousands of persons who
would speak frankly, a dual kind of resigna-
tion possessed them:. "I suppose that one of
these days we shall have to defend ourselves
again."
It is because of the don?;er that thrives on
verbal threats that English common law
evolved the concept of assault a.nd battery.
Not many laymen appreciate thart in law, the
threat to do bodily damage is roughly .the
same as physically doing it. But society has
learned that the continued psychological
damage to the threatened victim is often
graver than an actual punch in the nose
might have been. The threat involves un-
eertainty and accumulating fear, whereas
?he physical release of an actual blow is over
and done within an Rnstant. Thus 3n strict
legality, if I hold a gun and threaten, "I am
going to shoot you," .that is an. assault. If I
actually do the shooting, it is a battery. The
important thing, however, is that the Iaw
holds the two things roughly equal, and a
private citizen may be as quickly thrown in
jail for one as for the other.
When-assult is resorted-to by nati?ns, it is
a violation of the United Nations Charter, Ar-
ticle 2, Principle number sl. Yet: for 19 years,
Israel lived under constant assaults.
In spite of my knowledge that a verbal
assault is sometimes mor,: destructive than
a physical battery, in spite of m.y recognition
of Arab behavior as aggression, and in spite
of my experience with history that proves
one aggression. breeds another, I still clung
to my hope that as long :rs the Syrians and
the Egyptians confined th.emse:lves to wordy
abuse, Israel could learn to live with it as
one of the .peculiarities of Arab politics. I
even began to understand why :nations as. far
away as Morocco, Alge~:ia a.nd Pakistan
wanted to participate in the verlbai campaign,
for in this -way, they kept their. franchise as
Muslim states. I was pleasrd to see that more
mature Muslim sovereigrrties like Turkey,
Iran and even Arab Tunisia wanted no part
of this folly. Again and again, I told. my
Israeli friends and others who asked me.' "As
long as the Arabs confine themselves to verbal
threats alone, no great damage will be done."
Unfortunately, the surrounding. countries
did not confine themselves to verbalisms.
They also engaged in open acts of invasion,
sabotage, terrorism and military action. I my-
self witnessed the aftermaths of three such
actions.
One day in 1.963, I visited trie ancient
black-basalt synagogue ai; Korazim because
I wanted to see how Jews had worshiped in
the time of Christ. It is believed that Jesus
once lectured there, and I iou.nd ruins not
often visited by tourists. It vas a remote
area, peaceful, indifferent, as old almost as
the- hills. But on the next day, Syrian armed
units invaded this rural scene a.nd killed two
civilians. Hotheads in Syria boasted that this
was part of a planned program of harassment
that would continue until all Jews were
driven into the sea.
Again in 1983, I visited the Kibbutz Ein
Gev for one of its famous fish dinners a"nil a
is an account of why the citfzers of Israel
had to react to such a situation.
I must point out at the beginning that I
hold no special brief for either the Israelis
or Jews in general. I have lived too long
among them to retain any starry-eyed visions.
They are ordinary people marred by ordinary
weaknesses and bolstered by the courage that
ordinary- men of ail nations and ;aces can at
times draw upon. I worked among Muslims
for ten years before Lever set foot in Israel,
and on at least b0 percent of the character-
istics by which men and societlea! are judged,
I like"Muslims at least as well as I like the
Jews.
Furthermore, I am a professional writer
who has. worked in many contrasting socie-
ties, and I have found none inherently su-
perior to all others. There have,been many
single aspects of Japan, or Pglynesia, or
Spain, or India, or Afghanistan that i have
preferred, and to me, Israel is ;merely one
more country, It happens to lxave certain
charactertiatics that elicit enormous respect,
but so did each of the Muslim countries in
which i worked. '
What we are concerned with here is a
problem of worldwide significance: How can
nations that must live side by side do so with
a decent regard one for the othe#?? In trying
to reach a solution to this problem, Israel has
as many responsibilities as itsi neighbors.
However, this particular inquiry relates pri-
marily to certain adjustments the Arabs must
make before any kind of stability .can be
achieved in a region where stability is much
to be desired,
Exactly how vicious were -the ..verbal
threats? It will be instructive, :I think, to
follow the behavior of one Arab oountry over
a short period of time so that the'non-Middle
Easterner can catch something of the quality
of the attacks that were constantly being
made. For this purpose, I have chosen Syria,
which has a common frontier :with Israel
and an internal political problem: that makes
verbal attacks on Israel an attractive form
of demagoguery.
For some years, Syria's polities have been
unusually violatiie. During my stay in the
area, there were several revolutions, three
complete changes of government and contin-
ued violence. At one time, observers had
hoped that Syria's political union with Egypt
might produce a substantial and stable bloc
of Arab power that would carry with it a
sense of responsibility. But that union did
not last long, and with its dissolution, Syria
plunged into contortions that carried it first
in one direction, then another. Consequently,
Syrian politicians found that tkje one thing
that united them was a common call for vio-
lence against Israel. This is how'they spoke:
13 March 1988, the official newspaper, AL
Beath: "It has become evident tliat our prob-
lem will only be solved by an armed struggle
to expel the rapacious enemy, and put an end
to the Zionist presence."
17 April 1966, the chief of state of the
country, Nureddin Al-Attasai, in a speech at
a military parade: "A total popular war of
liberation-is the only way to liberate Pales-
tine and foil the plan of imperialism and re-
action. We shall work for t$re mob311za-
tion of all efforts for the needs ;of the total
popular war of liberation."
12 May 1966, the Syrian commander in
chief: "As for the statements of the so-called
ministers and officials in Israel that they will
punish states which support the commando
forces we tell them that we shall wage
a liberation war against them as the Partp
has decided, and fear and alarm will fill every
house in Israel."
19 Map 1966, Radio Damascus: "When our
revolution declared that the way to liberate
Palestine is through a popular war, it knew
beforehand that the meaning of jthis declara-
tion is an open and decisive confrontation
with Israel."
Approved For Release. 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
 Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300'047-0
July 31, 1967' CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -HOUSE
H 9645
lazy afternoon oP watching boats drifting in some detail the manner in which, in 1948, I looked about me at the audience, and it
across the Sea oP Galilee. I also Climbed up Jewish youths. captured the north Israel city was apparent that the adults, many of whom
into the hills in back of Ein Gev to see the of Safad against overwhelming numbers of must have participated in the events thus
incredible kibbutz perched on the last half Arab soldiers. At no point in my description portrayed, had begun to accept this version
inch of Israeli soil, As I sat in the dining did I deride the Arabs or cast aspersions as history. Their eyes glowed, and a real
room, whose windows were shielded by a upon them. Some dozen correspondents in patriotism suffused their faces. As we left
massive concrete bunker, a young Israeli girl the different Arab nations commented upon the park, I saw one young boy of nine or
explained, "We have to have the wall to keep this favorably when they wrote to me tom- ten lunging out with an imaginary bayonet
out the Syrian bullets, far they shoot at us plaining about the passage. What they ab- to hold off imaginary Frenchmen and Eng-
whenever we sit down to eat." Two days after jetted to were the facts i presented. Some lishmen. When I made inquiries about the
my visit, a Syrian gun emplacement in the claimed that the Jews must have numbered performance, I found that it was paid for
hills lobbed shells into the lake, sank a fish- 20 or 30 times their known strength. Others by the government and was repeated
ing boat and injured flue fishermen. Once argued that Arab units that we know to throughout the year.
more, Syria publicly announced that this was have been in the city were not really there. The whole thing -was fantasy, of course,
part oP a continuing campaign. Several explained that the loss was due to and certainly no worse than similar versions
My moat moving experience came when I British perfidy in turning over to the Jews of English history offered in London or
visited the beautiful Catholic monastery the best military sites, whereas the truth French history in Paris. I am sure that par-
marking the supposed site of Christ's Sermon was just the opposite. And all expressed the allel perversions could be found in American
on the Mount. It rests on the hills west of opinion that I had been tricked by a legend folklore, and I-doubt that much harm is done
Capernaum, where Jesus sometimes argued that had not really happened. I had the to children by this patriotic nonsense. But in
with scholars, and while I was staying there, strange feeling that my correspondents the case of Egypt and the other Arab lands,
I learned that shortly before, in Israeli fields trusted that one morning, they would waken -there was an additional danger because
to the east, a Syrian patrol had planted land to find that Safad had never really been lost adults, too, were accepting such fables: col-
mines and one had exploded, killing two at all, that it was still in Arab hands and lege professors, university students, news-
Israeli farmers. that maps and stories to the contrary had paper editors, businessmen believed that
I could go on through the years 1964, 1965, been mere propaganda. Egypt had won a great victory in 1956. I
1966, and 1967, citing incident after foci- Of course, in the preceding paragraph, I could find no evidence that anyone In public
dent in which acts of actual warfare were am generalizing from a dozen letters, none life was willing to admit that in Egypt's mili-
perpetrated in this region. From the high oP whose authors did I see personally, and ~.y adventure against a handful of Jews,
hills that Syria occupied to the east, gun po- it may be that I am reading into their letters the latter had easily won.
sitions pumped in random shots at workers a greater evidence of fantasy than the writers All nations engage in fantasy, but Pew in-
on the Israeli farms. From protected emplace- showed. About my second experience, Icon- dulge themselves with so virulent a dream as
ments along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, not make such an error, for it I witnessed the twofold Arab dream that Israel does not
Syrian guns fired point-blank at Israeli fish- 1n person. exist and that the Jews who presently oc-
ermen. And night after night, marauding In the summer of 1964, I was vacationing cupy the land of Israel can easily .be pushed
parties crept over the border to mine, to in the lovely city of Alexandria, made fa- into the Mediterranean whenever the
murder and destroy. Charles Kinhe writers of antiquity and by Arabs finally decide to do so.
Now, no man in his right mind would gsley and Lawrence Durrell, and Sometime in the spring of 1967, the Arab
claim that Israel in the meantime was sit- one day at sunset, as I was strolling along leaders decided that the time was ripe. Under
fink idly by in childish innocence, or that that unequaled boulevard that runs beside incessant pressure from Ahmed Shu~kair
it accepted these invasions of its sovereignty the Mediterranean, I came to a park where Y?
without striking back. In self-respect, there in the evenings, a concert of folk music leader of the Palestine Liberation Organiza-
had to be retaliations, and there were. These was offered. Now, I am very partial to this tion, who stood to win himself the satrapy
war-like Arab acts, backing up verbal form of entertainment, for one learns much ?f Palestine if he could goad Egypt, Syria,
threats, would have been suicidal for the from uncontaminated folk songs. So I Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia into
Israeli Government to ignore. Arab leaders bought a ticket for the performance. declaring war on Israel, and with the full
now began massing enromous armies with At the concert, I found a large number connivance of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who
much first-rate equipment, and these gave of Egyptian families with their children. It stood to win himself an emperorship if the
every evidence of being able to crush Israel. was a splendid night, filled with stars and war was successful, the Arab nations reached
What was most provocative of all, the leaders coolness, and we sat back to watch afirst- an understanding. These men who had lived
oP this might openly announce that they class performance of folk song and dance. so long on fantasy now conceived the su-
planned to launch afull-scale war. If ever The choruses were strong, the dancers agile, Preme fantasy that they could quickly de-
a nation was forewarned by word and act and the evening compared with others I had stroy the nation that had twice defeated
and specific promise of annihilation, it was enjoyed in Kyoto, Djakarta, Manila and them and had in the interim grown stronger
Israel. Mexico City. socially, psychologically and morally, even
What were the odds against Israel? A A rather large cast performed, and this though its airplanes and tanks had not kept
quick glance at the figures-46 million in made me wonder where the money to pay Pace in numbers with those of the Arabs.
the surrounding Arab countries, 97 million them came from, for the audience was not On May 16, 1967, President Nasser initiated
in all, as against 2.6 million Israelis-might unusually big, and the prices we had paid the two final moves. On that day, he elbowed
lead one to believe that the Arab states were only nominal. I shrugged my shoulders the United Nations Emergency Force out of
would have little trouble in overwhelming and concluded that this was someone else's its peacekeeping positions along the Egyp-
Israel, except that twice before, in 1948 and Problem, but when the regular performance flan-Israeli border in the Sinai Peninsula
1966, they had tried to do so and failed. had ended, without a false note that I could and farted its ignominiously to retire from
Arab leaders grew adept in explaining away detect, the bulges started blowing, excite- the area, thus depriving Israel of the one slim
the somber fact that twice, a handful oP ment gripped the children in the audience, assurance it had that a surprise attack would
Jews had resisted efforts to throw them into and the curtains parted to show a scene in not be launched from the desert. The fire
the sea. "In 1948," explained the leaders, "we the year A,D. 2000. In a park much like the engine that was supposed to protect the com-
were betrayed by Great Britain, and 1n 1956, one in which we were sitting, ~, group of chil- munity scuttled out of town at the first smell
it was the French and English armies that dren played about the statue of an Egyptian of smoke. In its place, President Nasser
defeated us through their invasion of the soldier while an old man watched. One of the moved up his own divisions, and the stage
Suez." By June, 1967, a persuasive legend had children asked who the statue was, and by was set for war.
grown up, largely masking the truth that means of a dance, the old fellow explained. On May 22, 1967, he made his second cru-
the Arab states had ever tested arms with the rears dropped from his shoulders.. His cane cial move. With the retreat of the United Na-
Israelis, and completely ignoring that in each became a gun. His ragged clothes fell away to tions troops, he found himself in sole con-
war, the Israelis had been victorious. Ina reveal a military uniform, and as more bugles trol of Sharm el Sheik, the fortress com-
magic flood oP words, history was repealed. blew, ghosts of his former companions in mending the strait leading into the Gulf of
The Arab leaders created an enticin world arms appeared onstage, and in wonderfully Aqaba. It was a simple matter for him to
of fantasy one demagogue lived on the ro- choreographed pantomime, the Egyptian announce that henceforth, the Gulf would
P Army demonstrated how St had won the be closed to Israeli ships and even to ships
nouncements of the other, and in time, all great war of 1956.
came to believe that facts were other than of other nations carrying strategic materials
they had been. When the Arab armies were The scene was at Suez, where a handful of bound for Israel. None would be permitted
able to import huge supplies of modern heroic Egyptians held off and finally defeated to enter and none to leave. This was a hostile
weapons from their East European support- not an Israeli army but invaders storming act and had to be construed as a declaration
ers, they really believed that their peasant ashore from French and English battleships. of war. That President Nasser was aware of
levies; with little stake in their society to For each Egyptian soldier, scores of French- the gravity of his act, he took no pains to
fight for, would stand up against Israelis men and Englishmen rushed. onstage, only to hide: "Sharm el Sheik and the blockade
who had good homes, better universities and be overwhelmed by sheer courage. In the mean real confrontation with Israel. Taking
a deep moral commitment to their nation. end, the invaders had to retreat, whereupon such a step means that we should be ready
the Egyptian defenders fell into a tableau to enter full-scale war with Israel. It is not
I have had two opportunities to witness of victory as fine as any I had ever seen. an isolated operation."
the impact of this fantasy world -upon ra- The great powers had been driven off, and The Oulf has been recognized as an inter-
tional Arabs. In one of my books, I described Egyptian honor was once more secure. national waterway because four sovereign
Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
 .~._
Approved For Release. 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69BOO369ROOO2OO3OOO47-0
H 9646 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -HOUSE , ~~ul~ 31, 19 67
nations line its coast: on the esat, Saudi "Des xoy, ruin, liberate, Woe to Israel, your "The UnitecC ,States is tlhe enemy. .Its
Arabia; on the west, Egypt; on the north, ]lour has arrived.. The Arab nation is on its fighters and bombers gathered. in large groups
Israel; and on the northeast; Jordan, But way te: render i*s account. O Israel, this is to provide for Israel an air umbrella that
it is more important eeonomieally to Israel your e:1d, prevents the Arabs from bombing Israel's
than to any of the other three, since Elath, "Evey Arab xnust take revenge for 1948, towns and villages, while it is moving fast all
is a major port for handling all and other must cross the Armistice lines from ail direc- along the occupied frontiers of the Arabs.
heavy cargoes. IY the Gulf of Aqaba were to Lions and head Cor Tel Aviv. We shall drive The United States, therefore, is the aggressor.
be closed to ail shipping, whether to Jordan out of existence i:he shame of Zionism. Rescue "The United States saw :[srael about to
or Israel, the blockade would damage Jor- the lo< teal Palestine, Hit everywhere till the collapse under the blow of death. The Chi-
dan, but. it would prostrate Israel. However, and. - cago gangs moved; the -state of gangsterism
ships intended for Jordan were allowed to "Thc re is no room for Israel in Palestine. and bloodshed moved; at moved in order to
pass, and during the exercise of the block- Thfs_i:r: your responsibility, OArab soldierst protect its aggressive base in i;he Middle East.
ode, several did proceed unmolested to Jor- Israel, ta9te death!" How vile and treacherous the United IStates
don. This underlined the fact that the block- It rc quired leas than 72 hours in June to has been in its collusion wii;h the Zionists!
ode was mean to be an act of war, and lest deflated this bombast. It refrained from coming out openly to fight
any misunderstand the intention. President What can be done to awaken the Arab ~. It refrained from facing the Arabs with
Nasser proclaimed on -May 26: masse; tb the reality that Israel stands where an open and daring hostility. No, Arabs. The
"The Arab people want to; fight.. it doer and wia presumably remain there United States is too vile and too base to have
"We have been waiting for the suitable for some centuries2 In the aftermath of 1948, the ethics of cavaliers. The: United States
day when we shall be completely ready, since the rent of the ^NOrld permitted and perhaps threw, from all its airports and aircraft car-
if we enter a battle with Israel we should encow aged the Arabs to follow a policy of riers in the Mediterranean, huge and con-
be confident oY victory and should take blindl;~ refusing to admit that Israel existed. tinuous massings of its fighters and bombers
strong measures. We do not 'speak idly. The exmistice commissions, which should in order to provide that air umbrella that
"We have lately felt that- our strength have worked out regional policies, were not protected Israel from the revenge bf the
is sufficient, and that if we enter the battle permi ted to operate effectively. Decisions Arabs, from the massings of the Arabs, and
with Israel we shall, with God's help, be vic- upon which peace depended could not be from the victory of the Arabs.
torious. Therefore, we have now decided that made because the Arabs refused to acknowl- ..The battle is continuing, United
edge that hist0:;^y had produced an old-new
I take real steps. States.... It is going on until you become,
"The battle will be a full-Beale one, and nation. that would prove most viable-that ~ Britain became after the 1956 collusion,
our basic aim will be to destroy Israel." was tc o young to die. The normal intercourse third-rate state. Here vie shall bury "the
Obviously, the major maritime nations of betwe~6n: nations, such ae is conducted be- American international gangsterism. Here,
the world, having anticipated that such a tween Russia and Germany, which were cer- Arabs, dig graves everywhere; dig them for
blockade might one day be attempted, in tainly as bitter enemies as Egypt and Israel, every U.S. existence; .dig them, Arabs. Dig
which case their ship would be powerless was f~rrbidden, and the region fumbled its all the homeland a grave for U.S, existence.
to enter the narrow strait, load long been way tccthe war of 1958.. Dig it, Arabs. Dig ft, Arabs. Dig it, Arabs.
on record regarding two points: (1) the Gulf Wh~rn Israel won handily, the refusal tc ..The curse crf all the .Arabs, from the ocean
oY Aqaba was an international waterway, admit realities persisted, and the same errors
and (2) as such, it must be kept open for all were t flawed to continue. International com- t lobe,eis onf ou, Americae and on r our lacke e
nations to use equally without let or misioixs did not function, and normal inter- Israel; to a her with the curseyoi all free
hindrance. course between nations did not mature, even g
By flouting international law and block- though .the Arab portion of the region and peoples, the curse of free risen everywhere"
ading the Gulf of Aqaba to IBraeli shipping, the I3raeli Yor:n a marvelous, interlocking On the night when the defeat of the-Arab
President Nasser had effectively and some- whole-a unit whose various segments could armies was known to the world as one of the
what cleverly cut Israel's lifeline to the well ?,rroflt from economic, medical, educa- most crushing in history, I discussed matters
south. If the blockade were allowed to Con- tional developmental and planning coopers- on an all-night radio show with Dr. M. T.
time unchallenged, Israel would experience tion. The blindness and the arrogant folly Mehda, secretary-general of the Action Com-
what its Arab neighbors had been threat- that produced this stalemate also produced mittee on American-Arab Relations, and he
ening Ybr so long-its strangulation, This the s:~eeches cited in this article. And they made these points: "F7othirsg has changed,
was war, but still only an indirect version, in tu:n produced the hysteria that led to a Israel is worse than Nazi Germany, and the
in the economic field. One could reasonably third wa.r in lees than 20 years. Arabs will have to drive her from the region.
hope that from it, President Nasser might If the world, in 1948, had insisted that the T in w for the nastul9lrr ears 1 And twha tthe
back away, but such hopes were dashed on natio 1s' of this area sit. down in honest con- g g P Y
May 28, when he announced over the radio: sulta~on, 1956 might have been avoided. If theeArabs bnt heir Eingerve~ation, ha Arabs
"We Intend to open a generalassault against the world, following the disaster of 1958, had Y
Israel. This will be total war. Our basic insisted that the Arab nations at least will recover at the conference table. Peace
aim is the destruction oY Isr>~el:' awak~rxr to the existence oY Israel, the tre- talks, of course, will ]nave to be conducted
mencous ioliy of 1967 could have been through third parties at the United Nations,
As the Arabs prepared far what they as- avoided, Now, *,he world has a third chance, because no Axab leader will ever agree to sit
sured themselves was to be the final con- and iC some rig;ht decisions are made in the down and talk with an outlaw nation like
quet oY Israel, their morale .was at high months ahead, the even greater of tragedy Israel. You'll see. The:. United Nations will
pitch, And because of what 'they had been of 1977 may be avoided. What is necessary force Israel back to her 1948 boundaries, after
told so continuously over the previous eight is a reasonable revision of boundary lines; a which all Arab nations will unite in a war to
years regarding their victory over the British aensi'rle settlement of the Palestinian refugee exterminate her, because tl'ds is going to be
and French in 1958,- they believed in all problem; a cessation of verbal assault and just like the Crusades. For two hundred
honesty that this time they. were going to physical battery; and a union of talents and years, the Arabs will ec:ntinrre their fight and
crush Israel, and fairly easily. inter sts, of resources and abilities. so that in the end they'll do exactly what they've
President Nasser encouraged this belief the region car.: move forward to a creative said. Push Israel into the sea,."
by his belligerent speeches. From Syria, Chief socie'y in whi:;h all members live infinitely Nasser will probably gain more from the
of State Al-Attassi thundered that his army better Chan an;Jone there now does. Arab world in defeat than he would have
was impatient to 'begin marching. Anc I hopeful that the world will now gained in victory. The war made him a tragic
The Poot soldiers, the aviators, the tank sensibly tackle its problems when it refused hero around whom the emotional Arabs-can
commanders and even the generals prepared to do so in the aftermath of 1948 and 1956? I rally. Soon, his new crop of generals will be
to launch what they were convinced would am not. President Gamal Abdel Nasser pulled making the old speeches of 1948, 1956 and
be an easy, victorious sortie: In the fantasy out c:f the hat one of the cleverest tricks aY 1987. His people will believe them, for Yantasy
world in which they had lived for so long, his career when, in first hours of defeat, he fs impossible to eradicate iF one's-whole so-
and to which they had contributed, words inverted the e:nticing theory that once again cfety is structured on the perpetuation of
took the place of accomplishment, wishes it w>ts not Israelis who were crushing hi.a the Arabian Nights.
took the place of military :discipline, and armed might from every direction but Yet we must dispel that :Panfasy. To do so
inflated dreams of revenge superseded facts. Englsh and American aviators. His explana- is the job to which we are sal committed . .
If the Arabs with their 'verbal assaults tion captivated the imagination of ail Arabs, unless we are content to watch this pathetic
had made life difficult for Israel, they had and within a few daps was adopted as oP- farce of Arab self-delusion repeated in 1977,
perpetrated a worse crime' against them- ficial: dbgma. In 1970, when I revisit the lovely 1988 and 1999.
selves: for they had come to believe their watePPront of Alexandria, I expect tosee-a ~~_
own inflated nonsense. tabic ari explaining how, in a moment of
At the hour of attack, the Voice of the tray:Sl in the spring of 1967, the Egyptians (Mr. GONZALEZ (at the request Of
Arabs radio station in Cairo issued this stir- and their Arab allies stood bravely against ~. MONTGOMERY) was @;ranted permis-
ring call to its soldiers. It is the usual heart- the ::ombined air might of Great Britain and Sion to extend his remarks at this point
ening battle cry that all nations use at a the United States and repulshed it. That
time oY crisis and- in general purpose is not isra~ was involved will not be mentioned, in the RECORD and t0 include extraneous
much different from what Englishmen or At'the moment when Egyptian armies were matter.?
Russians or"Americans would-shout to their suffering their worst defeats. Egypt's and?- CMr. GONZALEZ' remarks will appear
soidiera, but Sn the cry for avenging 1948, ieat::d radio was broadcasting the following
one hears a unique a~19~@P~~9PeRele~~O'~~2~~e~~`~DP69BOO3~~~1~O~~~~ix'1
 Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
~'ul~ 31, 196' CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -.SENATE
This first round of hearings before the
Senate Commerce Committee will, we be-
lieve, contribute measurably to the meet-
ing of these needs. We hope to develop
a comprehensive record as to the range
of devices which may emit radiation,
what is known about the potential health
liazards involved, and where increased
efforts at surveillance and control are
needed. We hope to receive testimony
from the manufacturers of .the devices
involved, from specialists in the field of
radiological health, and from govern-
mental officials at all levels involved in
matters of radiation control. We invite
testimony from interested and concerned
parties. It is our hope that these hearings
will contribute measurably to the efforts
of the Congress to legislate effectively
regarding this important and increas-
ingly urgent set of problems.
NOTICE OF HEARINGS BY SUBCOM-
MITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POW-
ERS ON "COMMITTEE VETO"
Mr. ERVIN. Mr. President, as chair-
man of the Judiciary Committee's Sub-
committee on Separation of Powers, I
wish to announce that the subcommittee
will hold hearings on Wednesday, August
2, at 30 a.m. in room 457, Old Senate Of-
fice Building.
The subject of the hearings- will be
the constitutionality of the "committee
veto" provision in the Watershed Protec-
tion and Flood Control Act of 1954, as
amended, which requires the Department
of Agriculture to secure the approval of
designated congressional committees be-
fore implementing plans for certain
watershed and flood control projects.
Witnesses will include Mr. Phillip S.
Hughes, Deputy Director of the Bureau
of the Budget, Mr. John C. Bagwell, Gen-
eral Counsel, Department of Agriculture,
and Mr. Hollis Williams, Deputy Admin-
istrator of the Soil Conservation Service.
Also present to participate in the hear-
irigs will be SeriatOr ALLEN J. ELLENDER,
chairman of the Senate Committee on
Agriculture and Forestry, and Represent-
ative W. R. PoecE, chairman of the Com-
mittee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives.
NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF NOMINA-
TION BY THE COMMITTEE ON
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Mr. FULBRIGHT. Mr. President, as
chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, I desire to announce that to-
day the Senate received the following
nomination
Livingston T. Merchant, of the Dis-
trict of Columbia, to be U.S. Executive
Director of the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development for a
term of 2years-reappointment.
In accordance with the committee
rule, this pending nomination may not
be considered prior to the expiration of
6 days of its receipt in the Senate.
ADDRESSES, EDITORIALS, ARTI-
CLES, ETC.,. PRINTED IN THE AP-
PENDIX
On request, and by unanimous consent,
addresses, editorials, articles, etc., were
ordered to be printed in the Appendix,
as follows:
By Mr. BYRD oP West Virginia:
Release by Army Materiel Command re-
lating to its progress.
By Mr. BYRD of Virginia:
Editorial entitled "Democracy in the L7.N.,"
published in the Richmond Times Dispatch
of July 7,,1967. ~
4~~~, ~._
ELIMINATION OF THE DEFENSE
REVOLVING FUND WOULD NOT
PREVENT SENDING DEFENSE
EQUIPMENT TO ISRAEL
Mr. SYMINGTON. Mr. President, with
respect to the proposed elimination of
the Defense Department's revolving fund
for insuring military credit sales, the
suggestion has been made by some that
this action would in turn in some way
jeopardize possible military sales to
Israel, and therefore the security of that
country.
That is not correct, for the following
reasons
First. The amount of military as-
sistance Israel was scheduled to receive
in 1968 under this military credit sales
authority is very small.
Second. If the decision of the Foreign
Relations Committee to abolish the re-
volving fund becomes law, future credit
sales could nevertheless be made to
Israel under the authority of section 507
of the Foreign Assistance Act. That sec-
tion authorizes the President to sell de-
fense articles from the stocks of the De-
partment of Defense, thus avoiding dny
leadtime for delivery. Payment for such
military equipment can be made under
terms determined by the President.
Third. The Department of Defense has
authority to "grant" military assistance
in 1968 in the amount of $475 million.
There is no prohibition whatever on giv-
ing assistance to Israel on a grant basis.
Fourth. In case of emergency, the
President is authorized under section 614
of the Foreign Assistance Act to use up
to $250 million for purposes which are
"important to the security of the United
States," although there is a limit of $50
million to any one country.
Fifth. Under section 510 of the For-
eign Assistance Act, the President can
use up to $300 million in defense articles
from Department of Defense stocks for
aiding countries when he deems it "vital
to the security of the United States."
This latter authority has been used in the
past to provide arms to Vietnam. Surely
the future of Israel is at least as "vital"
to the security of the United States as is
the future of South Vietnam.
Sixth. Israel has a.sufficiently high in-
ternational credit rating to guarantee
military equipment purchases, either un-
der normal commercial terms, or
through regular Export-Import Bank fi-
nancing. This opportunity would in no
way be affected by repeal of the revoly-
ing fund.
It should be emphasized that the pur-
pose of the amendment in question is to
discourage the Department of Defense
from financing sales of sophisticated
.military hardware to underdeveloped
countries which have vast needs for eco-
nomic development and na legitimate
needs for such weapons.
S 10447
If the security of Israel is again jeop-
ardized by a renewal of rearmament
activities in the Middle East, because oP
the relative importance of that part of
the world to the United States-and to
our allies in Europe, as well as Japan-
as against the importance of the Far
East, where this country is now spending
in Vietnam alone some $70 million a day,
they should be no question that the nec-
essary military assistance will be forth-
coming from the United States and other
nations of the free world.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION
OF POWERS: STATEMENTS BY
SENATORS ERVIN, FULBRIGHT,
AND MORSE AT OPENING HEAR-
ING
Mr. ERVIN. Mr. President, on Wednes-
day and Thursday, July 19 and 20, the
Subcommittee on Seporation of Powers,
of which I am chairman, held its open-
ing hearings. Our primary purpose at
those first hearings was to define the
scope of the subcommittee's proposed
study, and to receive suggestions from
our colleagues in the Senate and House
of Representatives as to particular areas
of encroachment by one branch of Gov-
ernment upon another that the subcom-
mittee should investigate in depth during
subsequent hearings.
In my opening statement, I empha-
sized that the subcommittee will attempt
a searching and critical evaluation of the
present-day significance of the doctrine
of separation of powers as a formula for
determining the proper role of each of
the three coordinate branches of the Na-
tional Government in our modern com-
plex world. It is not the intention of the
subcommittee to attempt to turn back
the clock to 1787, nor to deal vaguely with
the generalities that inhere in the ideas
of federalisrn and separation of powers.
Instead we will recognize that Govern-
ment in these increasingly trying times
is a hard, pragmatic business occupied
with specific problems that cannot be
resolved by generalizations. We will con-
cern ourselves with the particulars of
these problems.
The subcommittee and its staff have
compiled a list of subjects that appear
to require study and, possibly, remedial
legislation..I referred in my statement
to four major problem areas that we
have selected for early consideration. So
that my colleagues may have the benefit
of my description of those problems and
the examples I cited, I shall ask that the
full text of my opening statement be
printed in the RECORD at the conclusion
of my remarks.
In addition to the subjects chosen by
the subcommittee for study, many other
important and intriguing examples of
encroachment by one branch upon an-
other were called to the attention of the
subcommittee by Senators and Repre-
sentatives who appeared at our hearings.
So that the Senate may be fully advised
of the progress of our study, it is my in-
tention to have some of the statements
we received printed in the RECORD from
time to time.
At this time I should like to invite the
attention of my colleagues to two es-
pecially fine statements on the subject
Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
 Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0
S 10448
CONGRESS] C7NAT. RECORD -SENATE
of the authority of the Congress and the
President in the- field of foreign policy.
These statements were presented to the
subcommittee by Senators J. 'W. FuL-
13RIGxT, chairman of the Senate Commit-
tee on Foreign Relations, and Senator
WAYNE MORSE, a ranking member of that
committee. They are among the finest
statements on this subject I hs~,ve heard
in many years. I believe the ;views ex-
pressed in them merit the attention of
every Member of the Congresi; and the
widest passible dissemination among the
American pe0ple. Senator FuL$RIGHT has
asked that his statement be inserted in
file RECORD at the conclusion of his re-
marks today. I shall ask that the text
of Senator MoasE's statement be inserted
in the RECORD at the conclusion of my
remarks.
In his statement, my colleague from
Arkansas, Senator FuLaRIGxTy speaks of
his feeling that constitutional change is
in the making. He detects signs in the
Congress, particularly in the' Senate, of
a growing awareness of the loss of con-
gressional power and a growing uneasi-
ness over the extent of executive power.
I share that feeling, Mr. President, I
sense a growing cancern'n the Congress
and among the American people over the
multiplying deviations of otzr Govern-
ment from the constitutional principles
that have served us so wehl'throughout
our national history. I sense a need for
a searching constitutional dialog dedi-
cated to discovering a basis; fora rede-
fining of the powers and responsibilities
of the three branches of the National
Government. The Subcommittee an Sep-
aration of Powers will provfcie the forum
far such a constitutional dialog. I en-
courage each of my colleagues in the
Senate and the House of Representatives
to follow our work carefully` and to par-
ticipate in aloe studies whenever pos-
sible.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
sent that the statements I Piave referred
to be printed at this point in the CON-
GRESSIONAL RECORD.
There being na objection, the state-
ments were ordered to be printed in the
RECORD, a5 fOlhowS:
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SAM J.
EAVIN; JR., BEFORE THE SV~COMMITTEE ON
SEPARATION oS POWERS of 7;HE COMMITTEE
ON THE JUDICIARY, U.S. SENATE, JULY Z9,.
2967
This morning the Subcommittee on Sepa-
ration of Powers begins three days of hear-
ings-the opening round of a projected series
of hearings to be scheduled from time to
time throughout both sessions cf the 90th
Congress. During that peridd, we will en-
deavor to accomplish the goal set for ua in
the resolution establishing the subcommit-
tee; that is, "to make a fujl and complete
study of the separation of powers between
the executive, judicial, and legislative
branches of Government provided by the
Constitution, the manner in which power
has been exercised by each branch, and- the
extent, if any, to which 'any branch or
branches of the Government may have en-
croached upon the powers; functions, and
duties vested in any other branch by the
Constitution of the United :States."
Our task clearly is a for2nidable one and
one cf enormous importance. We shall seek
to evaluate the present-day significance of
the doctrine of separation of powers as a for-
mula for determining the proper role of each.
of the three coordinate branches of our Gov-?
ernment Sri our modern, complex world. Ad-
ditlonaIly, we shall search for legislative pro-
posals, wh:re necessary, to restore the three
branches to their proper constitutional roles
and to 1>reclude encroachments by one
branch u1 eon the powers -and functions ' of
another,
The government of the United States that
was creat~:d in_Philadelphia in 1787 took a
unique fo rm. Zt wa; clearly based on the no-
tton of c~A'stitutionalism, the notion that
the area of government activity was to be
restricted in favor of the liberties of its citi-
zens. But there was no novelty in this; Pro-
fessor Mc7lwain has demonstrated the ancient
origins cP constit xtionalism. The original
quality i nparted ro constitutional govern-
ment by the Philadelphia convention lay in
an attempt to assure that government in the
United Stales would remain a government
of limited .powers by the dispersal of the
powers twat were granted in the Constitu-
tion. Ur. derrstanding the validity of Lord
Acton's dictum long before it was utteXed-
that poke; tends to corrupt and absolute
power 1 ends to corrupt absgiutely--tthe
foundini~ fathers provided for a perrnan2nt
division ~f authority.
That division took two approaches. First,
it divided governmental authority between
the nation on the one Hand and the states
on the ctl>er. This corl,cept of federalism had
never before been ve}r~tured in a country with
the phy~cal dimensions of this new nation
in the -New World. Second, it provided for
a separation oPa' powers within the three
national .government pro-
flrst three articles of the
that political pourer ari$~S onsibility could
be div.ded among sepses d distinct
branch,s of government is as old as istotle.
MontesZuieu and hocks, among the `s~rore
mental principle of political science. But it
.had re~Dained fo:r the American Constitution
to attempt to turn the ideals into practice.
Today,' we are beset on ail sides by the
propos tion that the form that the Ameri-
can government has taken is not appropriate
to the demands of the modern world. The
outside of it. Certainly there has been a c~ln-
tralization of a'uthoritp in Washington:-and
a con~:omitant decline in the Bower 9R the
States. Certainly there has been an a,~grega-
tlon cf authorll;y in the executive branch of
the national government and a gomparable
weakening of the authority of tYx>; legislative
branen.'Nor has the judiciary kfeen confined
to th,r limited role that was,~4oreseen for it.
In Short, all three oY otlt basic concepts,
const.tutionali;;m, federalism, and separation
of powers, are thought .ay many to be out-
mode3 ,means of carrvi~ng on affairs in the
twentieth century w en ail governments are
"crisis governments'`' and the great need is
for strong centr~.l leadership able to make
decis,ons and t:~3ten action before the oppor-
trrnil.y Por co;istructive action is past. Zn-
steac. ?P engouraging such leadership and
facillt~ting she decisionmaking process, the
critii~ sayq oru system of federalism and
separation of powers invites delay, obstruc-
tion, ob~'irscatlon, and even deadlock.
It must be conceded that- the efflciencp
that ;SS availa'bie to monopoly of a plenary
governmental power is not available to
American government. And it must be ex-
pected: that this inefficiency, due in no small
degree.. tq the separation of powers, is un-
pop~rlar with those who are eager to use
government as an instrument of social
chaage. As Professor Herman Finer has said:
"There is no enthusiasm for checks and
balr,ndes among those who are impatient to
tree to a new social order."
July 3~, 197
I have always fait that one of the most
salutary features of our Constitution is the
degree of ineiciency it imparts to the exer-
cise of governmental power. A,nd I have
suspected that the founding fathers inteir-
tionally and very wisely provided fora meas-
ure o1 inefficiency to assure that the impulse
to act, and the opportunity to take action
would not occur simultaneously.
But conceding that a degree or." inefficiency
inheres in a system of government embody-
ing federalism and separation oi' powers, the
question remains whether that inefficiency
is not a small price to.pay far the individual
freedoms that are bought .with i;hese consti-
tutional principles. And i;he question also
remains whether the deficiencies in our gov-
ernmental structure result; from the adher-
ence to the notions of federalism and
separation of powers or departures from
them.
It is the function of this; sub~~ammittee to
examine the second of these important ques-
tions,. to discoveY the present state of the
division of governmental authority that was
intended to prevent the corruption Lhat
absolute power tends to bring in its wake
and to recommend appropriate steps for the
establishment of appropriate lines of sep-
aration of powers. It is not, however, the
intention of this subcommittee to attempt
to turn back the clock to 1787. Times have
changed, and some shifts. of authority have
inevitably followed such changes. Nor is it
the intention of this subcommittee to deal
with the generalities that inhere in the ideas
of federalism and separation of powexs. With
the late Mr, Tustice F7rankfurter, we are
cognizant-that: "Formulas embodying vague
and uncritical generalizations offer tempting
opportunities to evade the :need for coxi-
tinuous thought:' Government is a prag-
matic business occupied with specific
problems. Generalizations cannot resolve the
particular issues that face our government
in increasingly trying times. It is with the
particulars of these problems that the sub-
committee wiIi be conce;rned..
The subcommittee and its staff have de-
veloped along list of particulars-some of
which I shall make re:ferenc;e to shortly-
that we think require scrutiny and, per-
haps, legislative action. l3art we start our task
with what we hope is a becoming humility,
by inviting the suggestions of others as to
the appropriate subjects for our considera-
tion. We begin then .wish the testimony of
some of our colleagues. in the Senate and
House of Representatives, but our invitation
for suggestions goes far beyo~ad the member-
ship of the Congress. VJe are anxious to re-
ceive and consider the: ideas of others, in
the government and outside of it, scholars
and laymen, professionals and businessmen,
organizations and individuals. We acknowl-
edge the need for assistance in a task that
we regard as one of momumentai impor-
tance: the preservation of American consti-
tutionalism.
In this regard, the :>ubcommfttee is most
fortunate to have the :assistance throughout
its studies of three consultants who are
among the leading scholars in the nation in
the fields of constitutional law, political
science, and American history. Professor
Philip B. Kurland, the subcommittee's chief
consultant, who is here this morning, is pro-
cessor of law at the Universitg of Chicag0.
He is the editor of Tice Supreme Court Re-
view, the author of numerous books on con-
stitutional law and the Supreme Court, and
fs without question one of the country's
leading authorities on constitutional govern-
ment. The subcommittee's consultant from
the field of political science is Professor Rob-
ert G. McCloskey, of t'he Depaxtment oP Gov-
ernment, Harvard Un.fversi.ty. He is the au-
thor of a widely known book on the Supreme
Court and is an acknoweldged authority on
American Government. From the- field' e>i
American history, the subcommittee will
have the assistance of Professor William E.
Approved For Release 2004/05/25 :CIA-RDP69B00369R000200300047-0