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Calculated Confusion. On second thought, some Soviet specialists are convinced that the confusing stops and starts of Russian threats are calculated to spread confusion, and that in "granting" the West six months to answer his Berlin ultimatum, Khrushchev hopes that West Berlin might fall of its own weight. A fall-off in outside investment would be followed by an exodus of "scared money" and then by an exodus of scared West Berliners. If Moscow's tactics worked, the uncertain future of the city would demoralize West Berliners more effectively than any overt gestures against the city.
In the blockade of 1948-49, as in December 1958, the citizens of West Berlin have proved themselves remarkably resistant to this kind of psychological harassment. But in the long run, they have to be sure that the rest of the free world is equally resistant. Turning to West Berlin's Mayor Willy Brandt at the end of the first round of meetings this week, John Foster Dulles told him: "You don't need to be worried."