Forbath Tells of Russian Invasion

Peter Forbath, Time-Life Eastern European Bureau Chief recently returned from Czechoslovakia, said last night that the situation in Chicago during the convention seemed more dangerous than that in Prague during the invasion.

Forbath, who has been out of the United States for a year, said that the mood in Prague toward the invading Red Troops was not one of surprise. "The Czechs accepted the Russian presence as part of a decision made long ago," he said. "While we consider the invasion totally out of the question, the Czechs see themselves as being within the Soviet sphere of influence."

Reasons for Invasion

Citing reasons for the Russian military mancuver, Forbath said that the Kremlin has always wanted to put troops in Czechoslovakia to unify its western buffer zone. He added that the Soviets feared first an economic and then a political swing to the West in Czechoslovakia.

"Militarily the invasion was a beautiful operation, but politically it was bungled," Forbath said. Russian failure to instate a new regime cost them the appearance of legitimacy, he said.

Only about 13 or 14 of the 89 communist parties approved the invasion of Prague; the major communist parties in France. Italy and China opposed it, Forbath said. This disapproval, he said, made the Soviets use force as a last resort and also made them more lenient in their post-invasion tactics.