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libraries but would sit there waiting for people to come and
inform them<elves as to the United States. That sort of
thing is what I would describe as passive information program.
The active program is apt to get you into contact with a
good many more groups in the country, it is apt to be a grod
deal more difficult to operate, and it is apt to be, if success
fully operated, a good deal more effective in getting a point
of view from the U.S. into the community, but 1t demands a
different type of set-up, a different type of skill, but
neither the pessive nor active program, it seems to me, is
designed to serve the purnose in China at the present time or
in many of the oriental countries. That is required there, it
seems to me, is not information in the sense of giving to them an
understanding or maling available to the peoples an understanding
of what is in American libraries or what we are viewing in the
movies, and so on, but something that is pointed up and sharpened
in relation to American political purposes in that area.
If that type of program is going to operate successfully,
it
has to be opereted in very close coordination with the
political agencies of the American Government. For example,
without wanting to speak too sharply from the standpoint of
propaganda in China, the White Paper was one of the most unfor-
tunate documents, in my opinion, that could have been issued
at this particular time breause of the materials that it gives
to the foreign propagendists and berause there is no material
in it that I can see that would be useful to, the American pro-
*NATIONAL
ABCHIVES AND
pagandists trying to get support for American policy in China.
RECORDS
SERVICE*D
I am not suggesting that the White Paper should not have been
issued, but I am raising a question as to whether there is a
degree of coordination with respect to publications of that
sort between the information agencies of the Department and the
political agencies of the Department, so that the question is
raiged with respect to every move me make in advance of taking
the move, "Is this move viewable in terms of propaganda value
or propaganda advantage? The answer may be that it is not
but it has to be made anyway. Then your propagandist has to
make the best of it, but at least he hasn°t been caught off base
he knows what he has got to deal with in terms of preparing the
grounds of accepting policy and that is the basis of psychologi-
cal warfare.
MR. SARGHANT: Actually there is a tremendous problem of
coordinating information policies and programs with what is
generally described as political decisions. I think, frankly,
over the last tivo years we have made more progress in this
field than I thought we would. It is something our Advisory
Commission on Information including Mark Etheridge, Canham,
Justin Miller
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"ocrText": "Sifec 134 -\nlibraries but would sit there waiting for people to come and\ninform them<elves as to the United States. That sort of\nthing is what I would describe as passive information program.\nThe active program is apt to get you into contact with a\ngood many more groups in the country, it is apt to be a grod\ndeal more difficult to operate, and it is apt to be, if success\nfully operated, a good deal more effective in getting a point\nof view from the U.S. into the community, but 1t demands a\ndifferent type of set-up, a different type of skill, but\nneither the pessive nor active program, it seems to me, is\ndesigned to serve the purnose in China at the present time or\nin many of the oriental countries. That is required there, it\nseems to me, is not information in the sense of giving to them an\nunderstanding or maling available to the peoples an understanding\nof what is in American libraries or what we are viewing in the\nmovies, and so on, but something that is pointed up and sharpened\nin relation to American political purposes in that area.\nIf that type of program is going to operate successfully,\nit\nhas to be opereted in very close coordination with the\npolitical agencies of the American Government. For example,\nwithout wanting to speak too sharply from the standpoint of\npropaganda in China, the White Paper was one of the most unfor-\ntunate documents, in my opinion, that could have been issued\nat this particular time breause of the materials that it gives\nto the foreign propagendists and berause there is no material\nin it that I can see that would be useful to, the American pro-\n*NATIONAL\nABCHIVES AND\npagandists trying to get support for American policy in China.\nRECORDS\nSERVICE*D\nI am not suggesting that the White Paper should not have been\nissued, but I am raising a question as to whether there is a\ndegree of coordination with respect to publications of that\nsort between the information agencies of the Department and the\npolitical agencies of the Department, so that the question is\nraiged with respect to every move me make in advance of taking\nthe move, \"Is this move viewable in terms of propaganda value\nor propaganda advantage? The answer may be that it is not\nbut it has to be made anyway. Then your propagandist has to\nmake the best of it, but at least he hasn°t been caught off base\nhe knows what he has got to deal with in terms of preparing the\ngrounds of accepting policy and that is the basis of psychologi-\ncal warfare.\nMR. SARGHANT: Actually there is a tremendous problem of\ncoordinating information policies and programs with what is\ngenerally described as political decisions. I think, frankly,\nover the last tivo years we have made more progress in this\nfield than I thought we would. It is something our Advisory\nCommission on Information including Mark Etheridge, Canham,\nJustin Miller"
}