CONFERENCE ON THE PROBLEMS OF SOVIET INPERIALISM S. A. I. S., 10 - 14 AUGUST 1953

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP55-00110A000100080025-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 3, 2003
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: August 17, 1953
• Content Type: MF

Approved For. Release 2004/05/05 : CIA-RDP55-00110
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NUDIORANDUM FOR: Director of Training
Deputy Director of Training
SUBJECT : Conference on THE PROBIaIS OF SOVIET ISIFERIALISM
S. A. I. S., 10 - 14 August 1953
:L greatly appreciated the opportunity to attend this conference. It has
been a stimulating and'an-extremely enlightening experience,
The conference was well organized administratively; the program planning was
consistent, though I believe that it could be greatly improved another time.
Mr. Haines and his staff are to be complimented upon doing a difficult job
smoothly and effectively, The whole atmosphere was fine.
The star performers from my point of view were: T. Cuyler Young, for his
realistic estimate of problems in the Near East; Harry Schwartz, for the
content and quality of his presentation; Gerald F. Winfield, for his grass
roots understanding of the problems of Southeast Asia; George Kennan, for the
texture of his, presentation; Cyril Black, for his analysis of diplomatic
problems; Conway Zirkle, for a difficult estimate of Russian science; and
Willis Armstrong, for his discussion of economic policies.
For a conference of this kind next the year'aIm,ould suggest
presentations be given each dayx
scheduled as three-hour seminars, with not more than twenty people in each group.
The Agency was represented by its less prominent people,(division, branch, and
section chiefs, and trainees). This was excellent. I would heartily be in
favor of more opportunities of this kind for the second, third, and fourth
string members of the Agency team. This type of experience emphasizes the
need for continuing education, as contrasted to tr for all members of
the Agency. It is
In general, there seemed to e an o e p
history and a serious neglect of the much more difficult fields of sociological
and economic foundations of current problems. I had a feeling that most of
the speakers were leery of emphasizing economic forces for fear of being called
Marxist. Religion was studiously avoided. The dominant state of mind of
the conference seemed to be one that would be entirely congenial to "the
Fordham bloc". I went to the conference seeking the equivalent of the
experts' objective psychiatric analysis of desperately serious social ills;
I was given preponderantly evangelical exhortations.
b v r-em hasis upon political and diplomatic
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