A Must on Tests

From New York's Governor Nelson Rockefeller last week came one of the most strongly worded public arguments so far for the U.S. to continue with its underground nuclear testing, and to resume atmospheric tests, no matter what the Soviet Union does. Rockefeller predicted that Russia will complete its current series of tests, then "turn its face from the scene of the blast, with an air of virtue and innocence, and say to us: 'Now, shouldn't we all stop testing these awful weapons?' "

"Defiant Stroke." Before some 346 U.S. journalists at the annual convention of the Sigma Delta Chi professional fraternity in Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel, Rockefeller said: "The only way to avoid nuclear disaster is to command nuclear power, but I must say to you that in terms of this nuclear military power--in both its technical aspects and in our psychological attitude toward it--we, as a nation, stand today in danger."

Some of the dangers: "Since the voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing in 1958, we have stood relatively still in the development and improvement of nuclear weapons; we simply do not know the extent of the technical advances scored by the Soviet Union throughout the moratorium and in their current tests in the atmosphere; yet the very undertaking of these tests defied not only world opinion, but also all the years of Soviet propaganda invested in the pretense of seeking a ban on nuclear testing. So defiant a stroke must have been well worth it--in terms of raw military power."

Big Four. To those who claim more testing is pointless because it merely develops bigger bombs than are needed, Rockefeller listed four military requirements that could be met by testing:

"We must reduce the weight of nuclear warheads. Such a development of lighter weapons promises the mobility of our missiles so vital to the survival of our retaliatory power after a first strike by an aggressor. Weapons light enough to be moved about on trucks and small, swift submarines could virtually assure our decisive deterrent power.

"We must develop anti-missile defenses. We must face the fact that if the Soviets achieve a reliable anti-missile defense before we do, our retaliatory power could cease to be the shield for freedom.

"We must improve our tactical weapons. Only further nuclear testing can perfect the tactical nuclear weapons so needed for local and limited military action. In most areas of the world, only a clear American superiority in such weapons can compensate for the Communist superiority in numbers.

"We must develop new weapons. It would seem significant that all scientific journals in the Soviet Union suddenly stopped publicly discussing experimentation with neutrons more than two years ago. This suggests serious Soviet work on a neutron bomb. We can view with no complacency the chance of their winning so stunning a strategic advantage."

Big Question. The U.S., argued Nelson Rockefeller, "cannot shy from the responsibilities of power" by refusing to test in the atmosphere just because it may be unpopular with neutral nations. "In this age, the margin between victory and defeat--survival and disaster--can be a thin one. The question is not whether we like nuclear power or its weapons. The question is: Do we love freedom?"

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