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President Kennedy Seeks New Tactics to Fight Communists

Sept. 14, 1961 - President Kennedy has set up a Cabinet-level group to draft a program for waging psychological and political tactics in the Cold War. The Communists' apparent ability to repress world reaction unfavorable to them and to dominate the news with demonstrations that seem spontaneous led to the creation of the group. When the Russians resumed nuclear testing and many nations accepted the news apathetically, Administration officials were appalled. If the U.S. had unilaterally broken the moratorium, they said, U.S. embassies would have been picketed, perhaps stoned, and the demonstrations would have appeared to be spontaneous. No one suggests that the answer is to stone Russian embassies, but the President believes something must be found to combat Communist techniques. The group, which will include Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Labor Arthur J. Goldberg, and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, was set up to find the answers.


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