•Department of S~ate UNCLASSIFIED 378 PAGE 01 CANBER 07632 01 OF 02 230631Z 14 ACirtON EA 15 INFO IO J31EUR 151USlE 001C~AE 001DOOE 001GPM 041H 021INR 071~ 031 NSAE 001NSC ll1P l~tRSC 011SP 021SS 251SAH 021SAL 0l1SA 011 P R 230530Z AUG 68 FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIOR~TY 2810 INFO AMEMBASSY WELL~NG~ON USMl:SSION USUN NEW YORK CINCP"C UNCL~S SECTION OF 2 CANBER~~ 7&32 S!f'lJE PASS USIA C~NCP~C FOR POL~D • Department of State UNCLASS I F'.I ED PAGE 02 CANBER 07632 01 OF 02 230631Z DISHEARTENDED1 E•G• NIXON°S ELECTORAL CHANCES ENHANCED WHILE SUCH HOPES AS SENATOR MCCARTHY HAD FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMJNATION NOW DEMOLISHED1 ~WITH ONE DISSENT SUGGESTING HUMPHREY. s POSIT I ON STRENGTHED AT EXPENSE ; son.. NIXON ANO . MCCARTHY I• SOME EDITORIALS ALSO SAW LESS I ON IN . C~ECH EVENTS FOR AUSTRA(IA1 I•Eo HELPLESSNESS OF US TO DO ANYTHING AGAIN$ ILLUSTRATES THAT NO COUNTRY WHOULD BECOME OVERDEPENDENT ON OTHERS F'OR ITS DEF'ENSE1 AND THAT AUSTRALlA SHOULD STRENGTHEN ITS OWN DEFENSES AND POSSIBLY HOLD NUCLEAR OPTlON OPEN BY NOT SIGNING NPTo ENO SUMMARY• 2e FOLLOWING ARE REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE EXCERPTS FROM EDITORIALS IN MAJOR DAILIES. • 3~ MELBOURNE AGE, AUGUST 221 "IT ' WAS QUIC1<1 SIMPLE1 ANO APPALLINGLY EFFECTIVE · SOLUTION TO CZECH PROBLEM••• FOR REST OF US, NOTH I NG WI LL ' EVER BE QUITE SAME AGAIN, CLAIM THAT NATIONS OF EASTERN BLOC ARE SOVEREIGN AND EQUAL STATES, CONTROLLING THEIR OWN DESTINIES BUT VOLUNTARILY BOUND TOGETHER BY MUTU~L· cOMMHMENT · TO ' MARXISM-LENINISM' HAS BEEN EXPOSED AS SHOOD~ FICTION• oooAT ONE BLOW KREMLIN HAS DESTROYED POSITION OF -MORAL AUTMORITY IT HAO PAINSTAKINGLY BUILT . UP IN AFRO•ASlAN WORLD ev ITS COHPARATIVELV MOOER~TE FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICIES SINCE CUBAN MISSILE AFFAIR•" -· SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, AUGUST 221 "MORALL~ THERE IS NOTHING TO CHOOSE BETWEEN REPRESSION OF HUNGARY IN 1956 ANO INVASION OF CZECHSLOVAKIA IN l968 • BY HOVING INTO CZECHOSLOVAK~A TO RE•ESTABLISH A CL QUE OF KREMLIN YES 0 HEN AND TOAD~ES, BREZHNEV IS 0 MO T ATJNG TMAT OYlET UNION IS L~ST O~ OLO•TlHE I EERlA POWE~S ••THOUGH THE WEST'S VlTAL INTEREST 0 T HAINS UNCHANGEDi PSYCHOLOGICAL ATMOSPHERE D D POPULAR IHPU~ E••FOR CONTlNUING DIALOGUE ................ AND WE T Is BOUND TO SUFFER F'ROM ooi UM M AG IN INCURRED•" e e Department of State TELEGRAM ~ UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 CANBER 07632 01 OF 02 230631Z PRETEXTS AND CHARGES OF PERSECUTlON1 AND FINALLY NAKED FORCE1 THE GANSTER ARGUMENT . OF GUNS AND TANKS~ •••IT KILLS STONE DEAL .GROWING RAPPROCHEMENT BETWEEN RUSSIA ANO WEST AND TAKES US BACK INTO MIDDLE OF COLD WAR• • oo WAVE OF SHOCK AROUND WORLD WI LLl AT LE~ST HAVE EFFECT OF ENDING PLAINTIVE SQUEALS OF COMMUNIST APOLOGISTS~ ANO OF STIRRING RESOLUTION OF THOSE OPPOSED TO COMMUNIST TECHNIQUES ANO ASPIRATlONM" • 6~ THE AUSTRALIAN1 AUGUST 221 "IT WAS WISHFUL · THINKING TO SUPPOSE IT COULD NOT HAPPEN•••RUSSIAN VIEW OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA AVOA SECURITY RISK SUGGESTS TMAT SHE IS NEVER LIKECU~ UNDER PRESENT . GENERATlON OF LEAOERS1 To YIELD ANY PART OF HER HOLD ON EUROPEAN POWER BALANCE• THIS CANNOf FAIL TO AFFECT POLIC~ES IN WESTERN EUROPE• FOR ONE THING IT WOULD RULE OUT ANY HOPE IN PREDICTABLE FUTURE OF GERMAN REUNIFICATlON•($•ooUNITED STATES1 PARTICUL~RLr IN AN ELECflON YEAR1 WILL FIND IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN EVEN PRESENT SLOW AND FRAGILE INITIATIVES TOWARDS DE~ENTE. OVERNIGHf CHANCES OF SUCCESS IN SCHEMES LIKE THOSE FOR SPACE COOPERATION AND LIMITA110N OF MISSILE DEVELOPMENf HAVE BEEN HNNO A SERIOUS1 IF NOT MORrlL~ BLOW• •••ON EVEN Depar.tm~nt of State TELEGRAM ..::5 UNCLASSJFlED 381 PAGE 01 CANBER 07632 02 OF 02 230638Z 14 ACTION EA 15 P R 230530Z AUG 68 FM AMEMBASSY CANBERRA TO SECSTATE WASHOC PRIORITY 281i INFO AMEMBESSY WELLINGTON USMISSION USUN NEW YORK C~NCPAC UNCLAS SECTION 2 OF 2 CANBERRA 7632 SUTE PASS USIA CINCP~C FOR POLAD 71 SVONEr DAIL~ MIRRON1 AUGUST 221 "NOTMING HAS CHANGED• RUSSIAN DIPLOMACV IS STILL A BULLET IN THE Bi\CK•" 8• C~NBERRA TIMES1 AUGUST 221 "lN~ASION OF CZECHO· S~OV.IK A WILL O~SGUST ANO AL!ENATE MOSCOW•L!NE OO"HQNfSTS EYER~WMEREo IT Wlll BE D~FFICUL~ TO ARGUE OH TH~1 SOYIEf UNION HAS CM~NGEO SINCE srAL~N·" ,, > Q "' Department of State TELEGRAM UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 02 CANBER 07632 02 OF 02 230638Z COEXISTENCE• THERE CAN BE LITTLE DOUBT THAT INVASION HAS GREATLY STRENGTHENED MR NIXON 9 S CHANCES OF WINNING PRESlDENTIAL ELECTION AND HAS PROBABLY DEALT MORTAL BLOW TO NOMINATION HOPES OF SENATOR MCCARTHY• ooqTWO THOUGHTS IMMEDIATELY OCCUR• ONE IS THAT UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN RUSSIA AND US WHICH LED TO NPT AND OFFER OF JOINT GUARANTEE TO NATIONS THRETENED BY AGGRESSION NOW LOOKS PRETTY SILLYo ANOTHER IS THAT ALL NUCLEAR POWER OF THE US COULD NOT PROTECT A COUNTRY WITHIN RUSS!AoS SPHERE OF INKW'0 t3o TOGETHER THEY PROVIDE AN EXCELLENT REASON WHY AUSTRALIA SHOULD THINK LONG AND HARD BEFORE SIGNING NPTo IN A HARSH• TOUGH WORLD AUSTRALIA MUST LEAVE HER OPTIONS OPEN•" 9~ CANBERRA TIMES1 AUGUST 231 "ALTHOUGH SOVIETS AND HER FEW REMAINING ALLIES STAND ALONE1 ALTHOUGH THEIR ACTIONS HAVE SHOCKED, DISTRESSED1 AND DEPRESSED A WORLD WHICH HAD HOPED INTERNATIONAL BRUTALITY ON THIS SCALE HAD ENDED WITH DEATH OF HUNGARY1 THEREHYS WIDE• SPREAD FEELING OF HELPLESSNESS. WHAT CAN WE DO IN THlS NUCLEAR AGE? HOW CAN WE GET ACROSS TO SOVIET ~EADERS THAT THIS SORT OF ACTION IS ABHORRENT?" l0o MELBOURNE AGE, AUGUST 231 "IN THE END1 OF COURSE1 SECURITY COUNCIL WILL TAKE NO ACTION••BUT AT LEAST IT HAS PROVIDED A FORUM AT WHICH LIES COULD BE EXPOSED ANO INTERNATIONAL BRIGANORY CONDEMNED• •••IN CANBERRA THE GOVERNMENT AND THE ' OPPOS'ITION HAVE ACTED WITH COMMENDABLE SPEED TO ADD THEIR VOICES To THE OUTCRY• IN STREETS OF MANY CITIES THOUSANDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE1 WHOSE TRADITIONAL TARGET HAS BEEN VIETNAM, HAVE NOW FOUND A NEW CAUSE FOR ANGER•" llo THE AUSTRALIAN, AUGUST 23a . "RUSSIAN ACTION HAS DESTROYED ILLUSION OF OETENTE AT A BLOWo US GOVERNMENT SUDDENLY FINDS ITSELF AT ONE WITH ATTITUDES OF' EVERY WESTERN EUROPEAN GOVERNMENT AND, STRANGE BED~ FELl.OWS, WI TH COMMUN I ST PAR:rt ES OF' I EVERY COUNTRY I N 1 WESTERN EUROPE ANO, FOR GOOD MEASURE, WITH THAT OF AUSTRALIA AS WELL• •••T~E MOST EXPERIENCED OF COMMUNISTS . IRUSSlANSJ JUDGED THAT EVEN LIMITED CHOICE MR DUBCEK OFFERING WOULD LEAD CZECHS TO ABANDON COMMUNISM, UNCLASSIFIED • .. ~ ~. Depart11Ai..'}nt of State TELEGRA(f UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 03 CANBER 07632 02 OF 02 230638Z IT IS FROM THIS BASIC PREMISE THAT MOSCOW MUST HAVE REACHED ITS SPECIFIC CONCLUSIONS~ INCLUDING TMAT OF A POTENT] AL THREAT TO I TS OWN SECURITY• IF' THERE Is· A WAY OF INTERPRETlNG THIS AS SOMETHING LESS THAN AN ADMISSION OF FAILURE, KREMLIN THEORISTS WILL NO DOUBT FJNO ITe •ooFOR A SOC~ETY WHICH HAS REACHED SUCH A LEVEL OF POLITICAL POWER AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT~ THERE ARE AWESOME IMPL[CATIONS IN SUCH AN ADMISSION•" CROOK