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Published every day by The New York Times C01npany 
-:ADOLPH s. OCHS,Ptbblisher 1895-1935 ORVIL E. DRYFOOS, Pub!isher 1951-1963 

Soviet Invasion 
The crossing of the Czechoslovakian border by Soviet troops seems to reflect a brutal retrogression 
\ by the Kremlin to the suppressionist spirit that forced Hungary to heel in 1956. The crudity of the assault by Moscow and its hard-line allies in Eastern Europe shatters the hope born of the recent six-nation confer­ence that appeared to leave Prague with some breath-. ing space for continuing its brief experiment in politi­cal freedom. 
Apparently the dominant forces in the Kremlin are still too terrified of all forms of dissent to permit any growt;h of liberalism inside the Communist bloc. If the alarming initial reports are confirmed, the sym­pathies of all Americans will be with the Czechoslo­vaks in this period of trial, but the ability of the United States to do anything beyond diplomatic pro­test is gravely limited by its over-involvement in the morass of Vietnam. In any event, this latest challenge to freedom must be met by all the nations of the world through the instrument of the United Nations. This may prove its supreme test. 
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