The NAVWAG report, and Burke’s whole concept for the Polaris, rested on the premise that a “second-strike” deterrent was enough to keep the nation secure. The Air Force had contributed to this notion, White wrote in a memo to all of its commanders, “through the over-use of the term ‘retaliation.’ ” It was time to emphasize, up front, that in a confrontation with today’s enemy, the nation needed to “take the initiative.” The ability to respond to a Soviet nuclear attack was necessary but insufficient. We also needed the ability to preempt that attack before it happened—to destroy the Soviet
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