Word: laird
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1960-1969
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Laird published A House Divided-America's Strategy Gap, which argued strongly in favor of the rockiest of hard lines in military and foreign policy. He inveighed against 20th century revolutionary movements, and condemned the United Nations as "dominated
...unstable nations." He blamed the failure to intervene in Hun ary in 1956 on Washington's "immoral and suicidal willingness to act as if there were Communist legitimacy." The U.S. had allowed itself to become intimidated by the fear of nuclear war, he said. "Above all," Laird concluded, "while we have the power, we must aim at confronting the enemy directly...
...last year or so, however, Laird seems to have moderated his views. He is for a negotiated settlement in Viet Nam, knowing that no other course is politically feasible. At his first press conference as Secretary-designate, he expressed the hope that the Viet Nam war would be over within a year. He still favors beefing up the U.S. military machine roughly along the lines advocated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff-converting the Navy to nuclear power, giving the Air Force the advanced manned bomber it has been seeking for years, going ahead with the Army's anti...
Despite his interest in the field and his general agreement with Nixon, Laird was reluctant to take a Cabinet post. Earlier, he had turned down Health, Education and Welfare, another area of his expertise. He pointed out to Nixon and to Bryce Harlow, who will be White House aide for congressional relations, that he had 16 years of congressional seniority, that he could help the Nixon program in the House, that he hoped to be House Speaker some day, that he was a lifelong legislator, not an administrator. Nixon's reply: "I need you." On Dec. 7, Laird yielded...
...Capitol Hill Melvin Laird has long borne the aura of power, carefully contained but ready for instant application. His close-cropped skull and impassive features give him the forbidding countenance of a Japanese war lord. His steely mind and stinging tongue deepen the impression of a political samurai. Though he is in fact one of the nation's wiliest politicians, in private life he is a puckish, convivial figure...