Economic Weapons

The most effective weapon in the world today is economic strength, Gen. James M. Gavin, former Pentagon deputy chief of staff under Eisenhower and ambassador to France under Kennedy, said yesterday to a small group of students in Mather House.

Arms will not settle issues, Gavin said. The United States must solve its domestic problems in order to build its economic strength, he added.

Tactical weapons, those used in wars, cannot hope to equal the power of strategic weapons, those used in avoiding war and winning moral victories, Gavin said. He said the decay of cities in the United States needs immediate attention.

The current defense budget is disproportionately large and the defense department is trying to exploit all technology, even down to the frisbee, to make weapons, Gavin said. Somebody has to say "no" he concluded.