Forward-Based Nuclear Systems in NATO in Historical Perspective Lessons for SALT III,
Abstract
'Reinventing the wheel' is often useful. Institutional memory banks are steadily depleted as busy people change jobs. When the new jobs are in important policymaking places in government, they need to be reeducated quickly. The current disputes about the rationale for deployment of American nuclear weapons in NATO Europe, highlighted by the currently proposed deployment of 572 medium-range ballistic and cruise missiles, can only be understood in historical terms. Such is my contention. Nobody invented a careful official rationale for tactical nuclear weapons, from which subsequent deployments logically followed. No, 'like Topsy, they just grew,' starting well before 1957. They have been the subject of many studies in depth, with much of that analytic effort being wasted precisely because the evolution of their deployment was not considered. It must be considered if we negotiate SALT III.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA095441
Entities
People
- Malcolm W. Hoag
Organizations
- RAND Corporation