The Cold War: Chief of Staff

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Now that Maxwell Taylor is close to the seat of power, many Washington officials are wondering worriedly if he will turn out to have the same relationship with President Kennedy that Admiral Radford had with President Eisenhower. Like Radford, Taylor has the full confidence of his President, and he too has been called an able and ruthless partisan by his critics.

But last week General Taylor was talking about his new job in terms that soared far beyond any interservice squabble in the Pentagon. For the general in the White House is convinced that the U.S. must give "to friend and foe alike a clear expression of our purpose and of our motives. Our military behavior must be visibly consistent with our conduct in the political, economic and intellectual fields. Such are the notes to be sounded by confident leaders who know what they are doing and why. Then we can prepare ourselves calmly to the battle, knowing that if it is properly prepared, the odds are high for peace."