European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Page 4 the stars and stripes wednesday september 20, 1967 but talk Torp doing charge disputed credibility gap9 gets new ammo Harry s. Ashmore Washington a a lib eral Democrat s claim that president Johnson torpedoed hopeful Vietnam peace move last february gives new ammunition for Republican credibility Gap charges against the administration. Harry s. Ashmore forme Arkansas editor said state department officials dealt wit him and editor William c. Baggs of the Miami fla., new with an almost total absence of Candor in the affair. This matched Republican descriptions of the administration general performance in Viet Nam statements. But most politicians seemed to regard Ashmore s charge that Johnson effectively an brutally cancelled a promising attempt to Start peace talks a Likely to leave Only a minor abrasion on the image Johnson had Laboured to build As a Man of a hat to end the War. Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen defending the president made it difficult forever the Republican doves to suggest Johnson does t really want peace unless Hanoi sur renders. Dirksen told newsmen he could not conceive of any circumstances under which the president would t make every possible Effort to Stop the killings in  he suggested that Ashmore Scharge bore the taint of those who seek a peace candidate for president. Ashmore classified himself among the vigorous War policy critics when he identified him self with the eclipsed Adlai Stevenson Wing of the demo cratic party and As a confidant of chairman j. W. Fulbright,d-ark., of the Senate foreign. Hits Lack of Candor willing to negotiate at the drop Appeal to limit deployment asm tit in aimed at Russia relations , politicians filtered the former editor Scharges against the president in that Light even if they did agree that his account of the preparation of a conciliatory letter to Hanoi with administration help was As mislead ing As the state department said it was. Ashmore said his letter to Hochi Minh had been overtaken by an uncompromising message from Johnson. William Bundy assistant Secretary of state who conferred with Ashmore and Baggs said the two mistakenly Felt their Channel of communication with Hanoi was at the Center of the peace  said that by far the most important was a direct Exchange then going on be tween the United states an North Vietnam through mos cow. Sen. Everett Dirksen. Defends president by Stewart Hensley Washington up de sense Secretary Robert Mcnamara s speech in san fran Cisco concerned plans to build a limited defense against communist chinese nuclear mis Siles but the main thrust appeared directed at the soviet  talk seemed to Many diplomatic observers to be a Fina Appeal to Russia to agree to discuss an agreement on limit ing further deployment of costly anti ballistic missile abm sys tems. Four fifths of the speech was devoted to the american Contention that an abm Rac Between the soviet Union and the United states would cos hundreds of billions of dollars and leave the strategic balance unchanged. The remainder of Mcna Mara s address told of . Plans to begin work on a limited abm system at a Cost of about $5 billion to defend against pos sible chinese attack in the mid 1970s. The arguments Mcna Mara advanced to justify the limited system appeared sketchy compared with the reasoning he advanced against an All out abm defense. The limited anti Chines system he said would have four merits it would be relatively in expensive. And would have a much higher degree of reliability against a chinese attack than the much More massive and complicated system Cost ing More than $40 billion that some have recommended against a possible soviet  it would provide an additional indication to asians that we intend to deter China from nuclear  he did not explain How the ability of the United states to shoot Down chinese missiles would be More effective in this respect than the massive . Superiority in offensive weapons which he said is the Best counter to Abms in Russia. The chinese oriented abm deployment would enable us to add. A further defense of our minuteman Sites against so Viet  this runs directly counter to his broader thesis that it is useless to deploy Abms since improved offensive missiles will always get  h e limited system would offer some Protection against a missile accidentally launched by some  result of the Secretary s presentation was bound to Lea some observers to conclude that the plan for a limited anti chinese system was designed primarily to warn Russia that the United states was starting Down the abm Road and might As Mcnamara acknowledged find it impossible to resist pressure to limit the deployment of Abms to prudent  military and other advocates in the United states fan All out abm system Long enough to give the Johnson administration time to persuade Russia to open negotiations. First line of defense will be far out in space Washington up the first line of defense in the newly announced .  system will be far out in  there were an encounter Between a defensive missile Anda chinese communist intercontinental ballistic missile in the1970s, most americans might learn of it by seeing a Distant Flash of Light and hearing a noise like Thunder. Called both failure and too Little too late Washington up presi Dent Johnson s decision to build an antimissile system was criticized in Congress monday both As representing a . Diplomatic failure and be ing too Little too late. Lion represented a very Seri Ous failure of diplomacy and i regret  while it will be a thin abm system in the beginning he said it will be thick  Fulbright voiced concern Vinced the soviet Union another nations that the United states is serious in its decision both for peace and for insuring that our country is Safe fromn Uclea  sen. John g. Tower r-tex., informed government sources elaborating on the sys tem announced by defense Secretary Robert s. Mcnamara said it would consist of an area defense of the entire United states with spar Tan missiles which would intercept icbms in space hundreds of Miles from intended targets. Individual Protection of portion of the 1,000 . Minuteman icbms Sites using the Short Range sprint missile which intercepts enemy War Heads after they have re entered the atmosphere. Neither of these method would cause radioactive fallout and would not require a fallout shelter system As would a heavier abm system designed against full soviet attack. The spartan is a three stage radar guided missile 54.4 feet Long 3.6 feet in diameter an weighing 33,400 pounds at launching. One spartan could but most members backed about the system s enormous said he was glad the adminis protect an Oblong area several Al Rio to i o a Vaai try i it it t3v�/o_ _ t j i to t a o f i Lio Fin Ollir h o  thai Rill if vol Metloc or a of on i Csc total Olathe decision agreeing the pres ident had no other Choice be cause of the soviet Union s refusal to join in a pact barring defensive missile systems and China s growing nuclear Poten tial. Chairman j. William Ful Bright of the Senate foreign re lations committee said the a rep. L. Mendel Rivers. Urged deployment expense and questioned whether it was really needed to protect against an attack from re China which he said was a Long Way from mounting missile attack. Rep. L. Mendel Rivers chair Man of the House armed serv ices committee noted his pane has been urging deployment of an abm system for two years. A member of Rivers com Mittee rep. E. S. Johnny Walker d-n.m., said this obviously needed step is being taken  Walker also said hews not pleased with the austerity of the program. Chairman George h. Maho Nof the House appropriations committee said sufficient Opportunity has been Given to the soviet Union to come to som agreement on this matter. I Don t see How we have any other  Mahon noted that Congress already has voted almost $5 Bil icon for development work on the abm including $740 million in the budget for the current fiscal year. Sen. Clinton p. Anderson d-n.m., who Heads the joint atomic Energy committee said he hoped the action con traction had finally taken the advice which virtually All con Gressional and military leaders have been giving them Formant  chairman John Stennis d-miss., of the Senate prepared Ness subcommittee said Noam system is "100 per cent effective but we must go As Faras science will  Hundred Miles Long and several Hundred Miles wide. The exact distances Are secret. The Pentagon s research chief or. John s. Foster jr., told Congress in february that comparatively few spartan batteries can defend the whole United states from simple at tacks of the kind peking might be Able to mount in the mid 1970s. Foster told of a new warhead developed for the spartan us ing High intensity a rays froma nuclear explosion of the War head to neutralize an icbms. European edition col. James w. Campbell Usa editor in chef it. Col. F. S. Michael jr., Usan Deputy editor in chief Arnold Burnet managing editor Elmer d. Frank production manager Henry s. Epstein circulation manager an unofficial newspaper of and for the . Armed Force printed Dally a Darmstadt Germany under the auspices of the office of the chief of Public affair he Usa eur. Military address the Start and stripes Apo 09178. International mail the stars and stripes Postrach 1034, 61-Darmstadt, Germany. Tel Griesheim c prefix 06155 2071 m Darmstadt air strip prefix 2376 741. New York office 641 Washington st., new York 10014, Tel area code 212 620-5771. Second clan postage paid at new York .  United states is an open society in which the people s right to know is cherished and  president Lyndon a Johnson