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Dawn Practice. The West's political experts studied Nikita's latest words and pondered schemes to head Moscow off. In Washington, a task force headed by former Secretary of State Dean Acheson debated a partial mobilization of U.S. military reserves as a means both of making explicit Western determination and alerting the British and U.S. public to the chance of war. NATO planners talked of regrouping divisions into combat positions along the West German border. It was also likely that the U.N. would be called on to help if the crisis gets near flash point. But no final decisions had been made; everything awaited more evidence of Nikita Khrushchev's real intentions. There were many who felt certain that he was hoping to win his way through noise and bluster, had no intention of pushing his demands to the point of war.
In any case, doughty old Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was not intimidated by Khrushchev's special message to him ("If you unleash a war, it will be your suicide"). He went right ahead with plans to visit West Berlin in mid-July—a comforting gesture to the city's 2,200,000 people who live no miles from the nearest Western frontier. Surrounding the West Berliners are the 65,000 armed troops of the East German army, not to mention Russia's own 300,000 battle-ready soldiers who occupy East Germany permanently. As if to underline their presence, joint Russian-East German army maneuvers earlier this month drew the top brass from Moscow, including Defense Minister Rodion Malinovsky, to the Elbe River region through which most of West Berlin's convoys to the West must travel.
The Western allies' 12,000 troops in the West Berlin garrison would be no match for the Communists in a fight; it is their symbolic presence that counts, for if they fight, the entire strength of the West will be behind them. Last week, to show the flag, virtually all West Berlin's 5,000 American combat soldiers were hauled out of bed at 5 o'clock one morning and rushed to their positions in a practice alert. Troop carriers sped from the barracks, tanks rumbled to strategic intersections, and machine-gun posts were set up in the streets. West Berlin civilians on their way to work gawked, first with curiosity, then with comfort and satisfaction. This was one town where it was always nice to have the G.I.s around.