Time Listings: Apr. 17, 1964

Fulbright: Hit or Myth?

Sir: Senator Fulbright [April 3] spoke truly when he said that it is Communist imperialism that threatens us—because this is a sophisticated imperialism that does not use clumsy, obvious gunboats and troops, but employs adroit propaganda and efficient penetration and subversion to accomplish its imperialistic ends.

But he is in error when he attempts to separate and exonerate one of the two faces of the same coin—Communist dogma and Communist imperialism.

BERNARD R. KATZ Hatboro, Pa.

Sir: There is something ironic in Senator Fulbright's telling us to forget our old myths concerning foreign policy and face the new realities, while at the same time he stands ready to take his place in the front ranks of Senator Russell's war on the civil rights bill.

JOSEPH ANDERSON Bridgeport, Conn.

Sir: Smaller nations surely cannot successfully resist Communism without the moral leadership of the U.S. To view the Soviet Union or any other Communist-controlled country as "a normal nation with normal and traditional interests" clouds the reality of dealing with the ever-encroaching menace of universal Communism. The only way to avoid an eventual hot war is to put an end to the cold war: win it.

LANCE CRAIG CARLSON Depew, N.Y.

Sir: TIME brought up the Monroe Doctrine in regard to the Cuban missile crisis. As a purely unilateral doctrine, forcefully imposed on an entire continent of people who did not ask for it, this document stands for a stark effrontery to international dignity and has never been recognized under international law.

Your thinking, if it can be called thinking, on foreign policy is exactly the type of archaic, paranoiac, if not dangerous thought that the Senator is remarking upon.

MARTIN MELTZ Philadelphia

Sir: Senator Fulbright said that our size makes it silly to treat our dispute with Panama with courage and resolve and that we should go further than halfway in settlement. Size is not relevant. We have nothing to be ashamed of. The end result of negotiating with Panama will be the gift of the U.S.'s canal.

Senator Fulbright feels the U.S. is compelled to recognize the Communist regime in Cuba. This would stabilize Khrushchev's puppet, Castro, and by example give the same guarantee to Khrushchev for any other subverted nation.

GERALD SHELLY Phoenix, Ariz.

Sir: I cannot understand how anyone (including yourselves) can give any credence to any statement made by Senator Fulbright. It is obvious that he is chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee only through seniority, not special competence. It is equally obvious that his seniority comes through coming from a one-party state, not any special competence.

He was conspicuously silent years ago during the Little Rock scene and by and large seems to have made a knack of not taking a stand on anything that might require standing for a principle.

For this nebulous person to sound off on foreign policy (especially in such a scattergun fashion) is, to me, ludicrous.

C. J. HEPBURN Elnora, N.Y.

Down the Highway with L.B.J.

Sir: A public figure such as our President can rightfully chafe under much of the morbidly curious scrutiny of the public. But when he breaks the laws of the land he governs, it is time to scrutinize!