Galbraith, as Envoy to India, Urged Halt of Arms Shipment to Pakistan

John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics, revealed yesterday that as ambassador of India he had asked the United States to stop sending guns, tanks, and planes to the Indian subcontinent.

Speaking on "The Cold War as Conditioned Reflex." Galbraith noted that the United Staes had reversed its policy since the India-Pakistan border dispute this year. The reversal, he said, is an example of the contradiction in recent American foreign policy.

Galbraith attributed the seeming contradictions to changing conditions. "When the world changes," he said, "continuity is a source of error."

The United States is gradually learning to accept the changes of leadership in the Soviet Union, the break of solidarity among Communist nations, and the liberalization within the Communist bloc, Galbraith said.

But he explained that the "litany" of the last generation in foreign policy can still be heard. He used as proof a speech by Thomas Mann, former Under Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs, which alludes to the "implacable conflict" with the Communists and denies the existence of pluralism in the Communist bloc:

Galbraith praised President Johnson's handling of the Vietnam conflict. "I don't think our liberal friends have given Johnson enough credit," he said. "He has moved very strongly in this crisis." But he added that he opposes the bombing of North Vietnam as a military and political mistake.

There is a "plausible case for withdrawal" in Vietnam, Galbraith admitted. He said, however, that he would favor the holding of areas presently under control to leave open the possibility of negotiations.

Galbraith's address was the third of the Douglas Rights Peace Lectures given every three years in honor of Rev. Charles Rights '16. The last lecture was delivered by Ernest R. May, professor of History, in 1962.