The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War

by Fred Kaplan

This led to a deeper debate over just what the point of the arsenal was. If the “sole” or “fundamental” purpose of nuclear weapons was to deter an adversary from launching a nuclear attack on the United States and its allies, then there was plenty of leeway for miscalculation and error; you could pass up a lot of Russian targets, and therefore cut a lot of American weapons, without degrading deterrence. But if you were concerned about what happened if deterrence failed, if nuclear war erupted, then there might be less leeway; and, in that case, you had to figure out what you wanted to do—how you wanted to fight this nuclear war. If you wanted to destroy the enemy’s remaining nuclear weapons and other military sites, then you would have less room for error. Tell me what you want to do, Kehler said to the group on a few occasions. Then we can figure out how many weapons we need.