THE WEAKNESSES OF THE COMMUNIST DICTATORSHIP BY ALLEN WELSH DULLES BEFORE THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAND GRANT COLLEGES AND STATE UNIVERSITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80R01731R001700030004-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 6, 2003
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: November 14, 1956
• Content Type: SPEECH

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"THE WEAKNESSES OF THE COMRTJNIST DICTATORSHIP"
by
ALLEN WELSH DULLES
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
before
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF
LAND GRANT COLLEGES AND STATE UNIVERSITIES
at 10:00 A.M., EST
114 November 1956
Hotel Willard
Washington, D. C.
INTRODUCTION
President Stewart, ladies and gentlemen of the American Associat_on of
Land Grant Colleges and State Universities.
I thank you for this opportunity to tell you some of the respons:bilitl,3 of
the American intelligence community during these troublous days.
The first job I had after graduating from college was as a teacher in
India. While this was longer ago than I like to recall, it still leaves with me a
keen appreciation of the vital importance of your work. The land-grant ccvi ( ;es
and state universities have had a deep influence on America's educational
system. You represent the heart of America.
The task of an intelligence officer during these days is no easy one. c
say that the world is in ferment is to put it mildly.
The free world -- and in particular the countries we include among the
Western democracies -- face, on almost a world-wide basis, problems such as
these: (1) Revolt against the last vestiges of colonialism, (2) Uprisiuig withain
the satellite states of Europe against Moscow domination, (3) The all,.aut
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attempt by the Communist Bloc to sell its theories and its wares throughout
what we call the uncommitted areas of the world, and (4) The conflict between
the Free World and its program of building up a society based on the principles
of freedom and the attempt by the Communist Bloc to make over the world in
its image.
These and other issues have deepened into acute crises in Poland an,t
Hungary; in Egypt and other arab states.
The role of the Central Intelligence Agency is to try to gather toether?
the facts -- particularly the. facts on these crisis situations -- and tc la teem
before our policy makers. These included, in particular, the President,
the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense and others as they may nave
a role to play in dealing with our foreign and national security problems.
This Agency is one of the newest of the permanent Agencies of the
government. I say permanent because it is established by a law of a pea-manen
rather than provisional character - namely, the Act which set up a Departmen
of Defense, provided for the Unification of the Armed Services, and set up the
National Security Council. With the complexities of the modern world and the
multiplicity of our national security problems, the Agency has and, I be=lie+re.
will continue to have for the foreseeable future, a very definite and e:sen i&.
role to play in our government structure.
It is probably inevitable, but unfortunate that in the public mind the n9n
"intelligence" should become linked with the story-book concept of the 4-loa
and dagger. Frankly, I regret that such sensationalism should ever bee--_oud
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the main and vital function of this Agency. This function to coordina.e the work
of finding the facts in the international situation without bias or prd:judico, and
to make those facts available to others in our government that have t-, infinLtely
difficult task of charting a policy which will make for peace among naaions, aelp
ie
to build prosperity at home and abroad and raise the standards of living aad
levels of understanding among peoples.
When I mention that it is our duty to try to find the facts of tbuntrY,
how is it likely to react in a given situation.
To our policy-makers the intentions of a country in a crisis may be tiore
important, and always more difficult to ascertain than the amount of its
hardware, and its over-all military might.
Let me illustrate what I mean from a fairly recent and greatly debat