War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Alain Enthoven, 1986

Item Information

Title:
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Alain Enthoven, 1986
Description:
Alain Enthoven, an MIT-trained economist, was the country's first assistant secretary of defense for systems analysis from 1965 to 1969. In his interview conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age, Enthoven sets the stage for the missile age. He discusses how the arrival of nuclear weapons that could reach the United States made it necessary to rethink military strategy and the nation's overall defense posture. What was new, he points out, was the establishment of systems analysis for making key decisions on force requirements, weapon systems, targeting theory, and other military matters. Enthoven recounts how public interpretation of "flexible response" strategy ran counter to both the administration's overriding goal - to prevent nuclear war - and its bottom line: that nuclear war is unwinnable. He recalls that dismissing "massive retaliation" and the untenable consequences it posed, canceling an array of bomber and ballistic programs, and focusing on a conventional military buildup and a survivable retaliatory force generated immense controversy among U.S. military circles and European partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Author:
Enthoven, Alain C., 1930-
Date:
February 22, 1986
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
WGBH
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
WGBH > War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Subjects:
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Massive retaliation (Nuclear strategy)
Flexible response (Nuclear strategy)
Healey, Denis
Single Integrated Operational Plan
First strike (Nuclear strategy)
Polaris (Missile)
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
United States. Joint Chiefs of Staff
United States. Dept. of Defense
Nuclear arms control
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear warfare
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Warfare, Conventional
United States
Soviet Union
Germany
Mutual assured destruction
McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
Bundy, McGeorge
Kaysen, Carl
Taylor, Maxwell D. (Maxwell Davenport), 1901-1987
Gaulle, Charles de, 1890-1970
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971
United States. Air Force. Strategic Air Command
Rand Corporation
Extent:
00:00:00
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-ht2g73792x
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
WGBH Educational Foundation