World War III

"Our great opponent is the Soviet Union." Those words lay at the core of Secretary of Defense Marshall's rebuttal of Douglas MacArthur; their disagreement over what Russia might do in Asia, Marshall said, is "the principal basis of the difference of opinion."

He added: "I do not think [war with Russia] is inevitable. I think it is a very dangerous possibility."

Remote or Real? General MacArthur insisted that Russia "will not necessarily" intervene if the U.S. follows his program for Korea. Did Marshall feel that the possibility of Soviet intervention is a remote or real possibility?

"I think it is a very real possibility," said Marshall.

And it Russia intervened?

MARSHALL : "Well, of course, that would immediately involve the defense of Japan --Hokkaido, in particular--attacks on our air, at the bases--probably Okinawa--and we couldn't accept that without the maximum retaliation on our part, which inevitably means a world war . .

RUSSELL: "You do not believe then that the war could be limited to the Far East, but would spread to Europe and all other places of the world?"

MARSHALL: "That is our view of the matter."

BRIDGES: "General, is it in your opinion the aim of the Kremlin to destroy or take over the whole free world?"

MARSHALL: "I think their purpose is to dominate the whole free world."

Is China, as MacArthur argued, a partner rather than a satellite of Russia?

MARSHALL: "The Chinese Communist forces would be utterly unable to maintain themselves without a very direct support by the Soviet government."

"Enough Strength?" Styles Bridges wondered about the effect of Russian capture of Western Europe, with all of its industrial resources. Said Marshall: "That would be a terrific loss to us."

BRIDGES: "At the present time, do we have enough strength ... to prevent that?"

MARSHALL: "Not at the present time. We have enough to start them to think before they leap, and of course we have an atomic advantage that they are aware of."

Isn't Europe the place where the world war will start, "rather than a far-off incident in China where you bomb some Chinese?" Marshall was asked.

"The situation as to the possible actions of the Soviet government is a more acute one by far [in Asia] than in Western Europe," he replied.

Sold Down the River. He was thinking of the U.S.S.R.'s mutual-aid treaty with Communist China. "If it appears that they have failed to support that government in its fight in Korea ... it affects every other satellite. They get their example from that--and to use the common expression in this country, that they have been sold down the river after a great sacrifice of life.

"So it has seemed to me and my associates and advisers that we are confronted by a Soviet government in a very difficult position itself as to what it does in relation to the failure up to the present time of the Chinese Communist forces to drive us out of Korea.

"In regard to Western Europe, first I go on the basis myself that Russia may step into [an] aggression at any moment. [But] . . . that is no argument that we do not do our best to prepare for it even though it may take two or three years. In other words, we don't sit impotent and say Russia can act at any time and therefore we do nothing."

CAIN: "Is it not generally agreed that America and her Western European allies would become immediately involved in war if an aggressor occupied Berlin or any part of Western Europe by force?"

MARSHALL: "I would assume so."

A Matter of Honor? Getting back to the Soviet-Chinese treaty, Hickenlooper asked: ". . . Do you believe, General, that the Russians would precipitate a third world war merely on the theory of supporting a treaty obligation ... as a matter of honor?"

MARSHALL: "Not as a matter of honor, sir ... She can't be forced into a third world war ... I think they might take action because of what they considered a great peril to their interests."

Said Texas' Lyndon Johnson: "Are you completely satisfied, in the light of world conditions . . . with the preparedness and mobilization effort being made by this country and the results we are obtaining?"

MARSHALL: "Speaking purely from the Defense Department's point of view, I am not. Our basic plan to meet this crisis in a manner that can be sustained without too serious economic involvements is completely held up here in Congress.

"All our planning has been based in general on [the] manpower program . . . Naturally, that legislation has to be based on what comes from the Congress in regard to the manpower problem, which really means universal military training and service. Every day of delay is unfortunate, to put it very mildly."

JOHNSON: "General MacArthur testified . . . that we should and we were able to fight Communism on two or more fronts . .. Would you care to comment?"

MARSHALL: "We are gathering our strength as rapidly as we can, and we certainly do not want to become involved in a world struggle at any time--and certainly not prior to the time we are reasonably prepared to meet it."

JOHNSON: "You do not think that we are presently prepared to meet it?"

MARSHALL: "I am quite certain we are not."

Is time on the West's side? It is, said Marshall, if the West makes use of it. "So far as the officials involved in this matter in this Government are concerned, our present conception is that we can never tell at what moment the reaction from Russia might come. You have to evaluate or guess the Russian appreciation of our power atomically, how much of a deterrent that is ...

"There are a great many other considerations that should come into play, and the principal one is that it should be apparent before the world that if they [the Russians] do seize [the advantage of striking first], they are going to pay a terrible price absolutely and certainly. And that means a state of preparedness in some way that we can maintain . . ."

The hot war in Korea, Marshall reiterated day after day, could not be separated from the cold war over the rest of the globe. "Korea is only the latest challenger in this long, hard, continuing worldwide struggle . . . the most costly of all, for it has involved the lives of our American troops . . . There can be, I think, no quick and decisive solution . . . short of resorting to another world war."

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