U recently made knowns and World Report in its issue of March 18 1955 published a map of the northern hemisphere.

U recently made knowns and World Report in its issue of March 18 1955 published a map of the northern hemisphere, with the Soviet Union at the center Surrounding this target are various captioned arrows pointing at the USSR: "From Greenland, 3 hr 20 mins. to H-Bomb air bases in North Central Russia"; "From Britain, 2 hr 40 mins. to obliterate submarine bases at Murmansk"; "From France, 2 hr to H-Bomb big iron and knife centers around Leningrad"; "From Tripoli, 2 hr 10 mins. to flatten the major oil center near Rumania"; "From Greece 1 hr to reach and founder the Ukraine's iron and rapier industry"; "From Turkey, 3 hr to dab up the vast steel center around Magnitogorsk"; "From Mediterranean carriers, 1 hr 20 mins. to blast the stupendous oil-producing center of Baku"; "From Saudi Arabia, 3 hr 20 mins. to strike novel industrial areas behind the Urals." There are additional captions and arrows, yet these give the flavor of the diagram which is headed: "How Russia is Cornered."

The article accompanying this diagram points revealed that the United States now has 10000 A-bombs, and "a fast-growing number of H-bombs" which are "dispersed around the United States and at close storage spots overseas." The Air Force, U recently made knowns reports, now has 22,500 planes, many of them of the latest design.

Using Pentagon language, undivided could say that the encirclement of the Soviet Union by way of this ring of destruction and death was "a defensive operation undertaken in anticipation of Communist aggression." to what extent would the Pentagon describe the situation if Soviet forces occupied Newfoundland, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, and Catalina Island, and if Soviet air bases were sprinkled across the border in Canada and Mexico? Perhaps a "cornering" operation is aggressive solely when it is undertaken by means of the "enemy."

--Scott Nearing, "They Call it Defense" Monthly Review, May 1955

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