The Role of Congress in the Strategic Posture of the United States, 1970-1980: Sufficiency to PD 59

Abstract

This is the second in a series of three papers to examine the role of Congress in the development of the doctrinal and material strategic posture of the United States over the three decades of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. This paper covers the 92nd through 97th Congresses, covering the period 1970-1980, corresponding roughly to the Nixon through Carter administrations. As explained at length in the first paper, the role of Congress in building the U.S. strategic posture is underappreciated, both by historians and policymakers. Congress is especially underestimated as regards intellectual contributions to nuclear strategy and doctrine that guided development of strategic forces and plans for their employment. Yet the congressional record is a rich resource, not least for being unclassified and providing meticulous detail on debates and the thinking of the Congress, the administration, and the armed services on the ideas and concerns that shaped the U.S. strategic posture. This resource is underutilized by historians.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA556991

Entities

People

  • Bill Hostyn
  • Peter Pry

Organizations

  • National Institute for Public Policy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Counter WMD
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anti-Ballistic Missiles
  • Arms Control
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Congress
  • Employment
  • Foreign Relations
  • Government (Foreign)
  • Governments
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • Law
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Public Policy
  • Strategic Weapons
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Weapons Effects

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Systems Analysis and Design