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

by Fred Kaplan

Ten days into his presidency, Bundy wrote a memo, laying out the decisions that Kennedy would soon have to make on issues spanning “the whole spectrum from thermonuclear weapons systems to guerrilla action and political infiltration.” On the question of nuclear war, he would need to decide whether to emphasize “strike first” “counterforce” strategies or a “second strike” “deterrent” posture. “The matter is of literally life-and-death importance,” Bundy wrote, “and it also has plenty of political dynamite in it.” The same day, David Bell, the budget director, wrote a memo noting that the three military services disagreed on these strategies. The Air Force advocated “counterforce deterrent,” requiring more heavy bombers and ICBMs; the Navy touted “finite deterrent,” accomplished by a limited number of submarines; and the Army coined the phrase “credible deterrent,” defined as more conventional forces—tanks, troops, artillery, and so forth—to minimize the chance that a small conflict might escalate to nuclear war in the first place.