War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Herbert York, 1986

Item Information

Title:
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Herbert York, 1986
Description:
Herbert York was a nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project, was Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1952-1958, and served as a member of President's Science Advisory Committee from 1957-1968. He begins by describing the political atmosphere surrounding the creation of the laboratory, and certain early developments such as tactical nuclear weapons. He describes his "mixed" reaction to Sputnik and the decision to promote ICBMs, which was accelerated in part by the development of the H-bomb. The positive role of scientists in the Eisenhower administration is also discussed, as is the negative impact of inter-service rivalries on the weapons development process. He makes the point that decisions on weapons systems are often a combination of what is strategically necessary and what is technically feasible at the moment, adding that the concept of the strategic triad was essentially invented by accident. He recounts the Polaris missile project's origins, then turns to the larger question of how each leg of the triad contains enough weapons on its own to accomplish the strategic objectives of the triad as a whole. Several subsequent questions deal with the missile gap and with Eisenhower's concerns underlying his comments on the military-industrial complex. Dr. York spells out how weapons levels came to be built up first in terms of sheer numbers (predominantly in the Eisenhower era) and in more recent years in terms of capabilities and decreased mission times. Characterizing the differences between 1950 and 1985, he believes the United States' far greater knowledge about the Soviet Union is one of the most significant.
Interviewee:
York, Herbert F. (Herbert Frank)
Date:
March 7, 1986
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
WGBH
Collection (local):
American Archive of Public Broadcasting Collection
Series:
WGBH > War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Subjects:
Global Affairs
Military Forces and Armaments
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
United States. Dept. of Defense
Gaither Report (1957)
Khrushchev, Nikita Sergeevich, 1894-1971
Alsop, Joseph, 1910-1989
McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Von Neumann, John
China
Soviet Union
United States
Military-industrial complex
U-2 (Reconnaissance aircraft)
Polaris (Missile)
Jupiter missile
Minuteman (Missile)
Hydrogen bomb
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
Edicia Sputnik
Tactical nuclear weapons
Physicists
Nuclear weapons
Korean War, 1950-1953
United States. Air Force
United States. Army
United States. Navy
United States. Congress
United States. Air Force. Strategic Air Command
Democratic Party (U.S.)
Extent:
00:46:59
Link to Item:
https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-h707w67b79
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
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Publisher:
WGBH Educational Foundation