Senator THURMOND. From time to time, various Members of the Congress make statements both in the Congress and in other public forums which are both uncomplimentary and derogatory about the Communists. Are you familiar with that? Mr. BURRIS. I am familiar with quite a lot of this; yes, sir. Senator THURMOND. Is there any evidence available that would show that the Communists are more likely to react in reprisal to the comments of officials in the executive branch than to those of officials in the legislative branch? Mr. BURRIS. I have no knowledge of that. WHETHER STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AFFECT NEGOTIATIONS Senator THURMOND. If our Government is going to benefit by speaking with one voice, would it not be necessary for the Congress to be kept informed as to the conduct of the sensitive negotiations so that they, too, might avoid any unintentional disruption of such negotiations? Mr. BURRIS. I do not believe, sir, that it would be within my prerogative to answer that question. Senator THURMOND. În order that the entirety of our Government should speak with one voice so that we could have a really united front, would you favor a procedure whereby all Members of the Congress also submitted their remarks which deal with foreign relations matters to the State Department for prior clearance? Mr. BURRIS. I personally would not be in favor of any such proposal. WHETHER STATEMENTS IN THE PRESS AFFECT NEGOTIATIONS Senator THURMOND. In your opinion, should the press of our country also edit their articles in such a manner as to avoid criticism of communism or the Communists when sensitive negotiations are in progress? Mr. BURRIS. Absolutely not. Senator THURMOND. Does the State Department ever contact newspapers and recommend that they print or withhold articles or syndicated columns which, in the opinion of the State Department, would be inconsistent with the position of the State Department on our attitude toward communism? Mr. BURRIS. I have no personal knowledge of any specific instances such as that. Senator THURMOND. So you do not know about that, is that right? Mr. BURRIS. That is correct. WHETHER THE ADMINISTRATION HAS MINIMIZED THE COMMUNIST THREAT Senator THURMOND. Mr. Tubby said that the censoring of antiCommunist remarks consistently followed President Kennedy's inaugural address remarks to explore possible negotiations with Russia and practice civility, I believe is the way he expressed it. 88735 O-62-pt. 2-33 Does this mean the administration is deliberately minimizing the Communist threat in hopes of reaching some overall accommodation to ease the cold war? Mr. BURRIS. I do not believe that the administration has in any way minimized the Communist threat. Senator THURMOND. Can you answer that, or do you know? Senator THURMOND. Can you speak for the State Department in answer to that question? Mr. BURRIS. I can speak as a State Department official in saying that I do not believe that the administration in any way has minimized the Communist threat. Senator THURMOND. Are you familiar with the policies, you say, of the State Department? Mr. BURRIS. I am familiar with the broad policies of the State Department of the U.S. Government. CONSISTENCY OF POLICY TOWARD COMMUNIST CONCEPTS AND GOALS Senator THURMOND. Would you agree that, while our policy as to tactics of dealing with foreign nations might fluctuate rather considerably from week to week or month to month, that, nevertheless, our policy with respect to the more fundamental concepts of the Communist purposes and goals and our own strategy remains relatively consistent? Mr. BURRIS. I think we have a very consistent policy, basically, in that connection; yes, sir. WHETHER CHANGES REFLECT ESTABLISHED POLICY OR INDIVIDUAL JUDGMENT Senator THURMOND. Are you in a position-have you got the red book there before you? Would you please turn to the volume of deletions, changes in speeches of military personnel to speech 41, page 3? Mr. BURRIS. Yes, sir. Senator THURMOND. You will notice that the speaker proposed to attribute to communism the open dedication to the ruthless destruction of freedom and liberty of all mankind. Whoever reviewed this speech in the State Department deleted the reference to communism and substituted therefor the "Sino-Soviet bloc". Do you see that? Mr. BURRIS. Yes, I see that. Senator THURMOND. Now, was this change, which was made around May 5, 1961, an exercise of whim, caprice, or personal judgment on the part of the reviewer, or was it a knowledgable and accurate application of an established policy to the speech, and upon what do you base your conclusion? Mr. BURRIS. I could not provide an answer except to say that I would not believe that it would be made as a result of a whim or capriciousness on the part of the reviewer. What other circumstances he might have taken into account, I could not say. Senator THURMOND. Do you think the censor substituted his personal judgment there for the speaker, or do you think that the change made represented a knowledgeable and accurate application of the established policies to the speech? Mr. BURRIS. I could not answer that question until I looked at the entire speech and the records relating to it. Senator THURMOND. Until what? Mr. BURRIS. I say I could not answer that question until I had looked at the entire speech and the records relating to it and the other considerations involved. Senator THURMOND. I have got a number of questions here about other speeches, Mr. Chairman, but if he cannot answer that one, I do not think there is any use going any further with the others. I think we will have to wait until we get the man up who can furnish the answers. Senator STENNIS. Thank you very much, Senator. All right, sir, we thank you very much for your testimony. We appreciate your attendance before the subcommittee. You are excused now. We will recess here for 3 or 4 minutes. Senator STENNIS. We will resume the session, gentlemen. We have Colonel Rasmessen here in the room. Colonel, will you come around, please? Just stand there at the witness table, please. I call Mr. Herron. Come around, please. I want each of you gentlemen to be sworn. Do you and each of you solemnly swear that your testimony before this subcommittee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Colonel RASMESSEN. I do. Mr. HERRON. I do. Senator STENNIS. Mr. Herron, you may have a seat back where you are. RASMESSEN BIOGRAPHY Colonel, have a seat. I have a biographical sketch of the Colonel which the reporter will put in the record at this time. (The biographical sketch referred to follows:) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF COL. EDWARD B. RASMESSEN, U.S. AIR FORCE Edward B. Rasmessen was born February 28, 1916, in Chicago, Ill. He attended public schools in Wilmette and Evanston, Ill., and graduated from the University of Illinois in 1937 with a B.S. degree in commerce and law. He completed 4 years of ROTC training at the University and was commissioned a second lieutenant, U.S. Cavalry (Reserve) in June 1937. Colonel Rasmessen entered extended active duty with the Army Air Corps in August 1941, serving initially as Commandant of Student Officers and Aviation Cadets at the Spartan School of Aviation, Tulsa, Okla. He later entered pilot training and graduated in July 1943. In 1944-45, Colonel Rasmessen served in the 15th Air Force in Italy as Assistant Wing Operations Officer of the 49th Bomb Wing (Heavy) and as Group Operations Officer of the 451st Bomb Group (Heavy). Colonel Rasmessen was commissioned a Regular officer in the Army Air Forces in July 1946. In the period 1946 to 1950, he served in various operational and planning staff positions with Headquarters, 11th Air Force, 1st Air Force, and the Continental Air Command. In September 1950, he was assigned to Headquarters, Far East Air Forces, Tokyo, Japan, as Combat Operations Officer, then as Assistant Director of Operations. Upon his promotion to colonel in August 1951, he was assigned as Chief, Combat Operations Division in which position he served until August 1953. From August 1953 to September 1955, Colonel Rasmessen was assigned as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations, Headquarters Combat Crew Training Air Force, Randolph AFB, Tex. In January 1956 he became Commander, 3555th Combat Crew Training Group (Interceptor), Perrin AFB, Tex. From September 1957 through June 1961, Colonel Rasmessen served as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff. U.S. Air Force. At the present time, Colonel Rasmessen is Deputy Chief of Staff, Plans and Operations, Headquarters, 5th Allied Tactical Air Force, Vicenza, Italy. Colonel Rasmessen's decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with two clusters, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. Colonel Rasmessen is married to the former Janet I. Mosher of Chicago, Ill. He has one daughter, Kaye. TESTIMONY OF COL. EDWARD B. RASMESSEN, U.S. AIR FORCE Senator STENNIS. Colonel, you are now stationed in Italy, is that correct? Colonel RASMESSEN. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. And you were called here as a witness by the subcommittee? Colonel RASMESSEN. That is correct. Senator STENNIS. Members of the subcommittee, this witness is to give testimony on one of the speeches that was in the files. You do not have a prepared statement, do you, Colonel? You were summoned here on just one special point. Colonel RASMESSEN. That is correct. Senator STENNIS. Mr. Kendall, will you proceed now, please? DUTIES OF RASMESSEN AS ASSISTANT TO FORMER AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF WHITE Mr. KENDALL. Colonel, I understand that from September 1957 to June 1961, you were Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, is this correct? Colonel RASMESSEN. That is correct, sir. Mr. KENDALL. And this was Gen. Thomas D. White? Mr. KENDALL. In that capacity what connection did you have with the preparation, proceessing, and clearing of his speeches and other public statements? Colonel RASMESSEN. Sir, in the capacity of Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, I was responsible for the research of background material, the development and preparation of public speeches, congressional presentations and certain other material, and, in the process, for following through on the clearance of the material to be released to the public. Mr. KENDALL. In other words, on General White's behalf, you had the contact with the people in the Directorate for Security Review, and, when necessary, the people in the State Department who were concerned with the clearance process, is that right? Colonel RASMESSEN. That is correct. I contacted the individuals in both Departments on occasion, sir. WHITE STATEMENT BEFORE HOUSE ARMED SERVICES POSTURE HEARINGS Mr. KENDALL. Colonel, I would like to direct your attention specifically to a prepared statement by General White which was to be delivered before the House Committee on Armed Services, I believe sometime in March of 1961. Are you familiar with that statement? Colonel RASMESSEN. Yes, I am, sir. Mr. KENDALL. And what was the general nature or purpose of his presentation at that time? Colonel RASMESSEN. Well, sir, this was the annual presentation by the Chief of Staff to the House Armed Services Committee. Mr. KENDALL. Was this the so-called posture? Colonel RASMESSEN. The posture hearing; yes, sir. Colonel RASMESSEN. This was an executive session, I believe. Mr. KENDALL. And the statement was to have been delivered, and was in fact delivered, at an executive session of the House Committee on Armed Services? Colonel RASMESSEN. As I recall, it was; yes, sir. DEFENSE REVIEW OF WHITE STATEMENT Mr. KENDALL. Now, was this statement by General White submitted through the normal processes of review? Colonel RASMESSEN. Yes; it was. Mr. KENDALL. Were any changes made in it by the Department of Defense? Colonel RASMESSEN. I believe some changes were made by the Department of Defense. Mr. KENDALL. Do you have a record of those changes before you? Colonel RASMESSEN. Yes; I do. Mr. KENDALL. Do those appear upon the summary of the changes in General White's speeches which have already been put in the record? For your information, Colonel, since you were not here, that is a document that was put in the record. Colonel RASMESSEN. All right, sir. STATE CHANGES AND DELETIONS ON WHITE STATEMENT Mr. KENDALL. Was the proposed presentation then presented to the Department of State? Colonel RASMESSEN. I assume it was, sir. Mr. KENDALL. As a matter of fact, you know it was? Colonel RASMESSEN. Yes; I do. Mr. KENDALL. And is it not true, also, that the Department of State made rather extensive changes in the speech, so much, in fact, that several pages had to be rewritten? Colonel RASMESSEN. Yes, sir; numerous changes were made, and I did have to rewrite several pages. Mr. KENDALL. Can you brief us generally as to what the nature of those changes were? |