GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Denis Healey, 1986
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
10/27/1986
Denis Healey was the British secretary of state for defense from 1964 to 1970 and chancellor of the exchequer from 1974 to 1979. In his interview conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: The Education of Robert McNamara, Healey begins with a comparison between Soviet and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conventional military strength. He reflects on the period in which he was defense secretary under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. He recalls the opposing interests of Germany and the United States with regard to nuclear strategy, explains his Healey theorem of deterrence, and clarifies Frances position that alliances cant coexist with nuclear weapons. Healey also assesses U.S. defense secretary Robert McNamaras quest for tidy solutions to insoluble nuclear problems. Healey elaborates on Frances opposition to the notion of extended deterrence and on his own role in persuading NATO to adopt flexible response strategy. He traces the evolution of his military analysis of massive retaliation, describes his collaboration with McNamara in developing flexible-response doctrine, reiterates the expectation that SALT III would follow shortly after a ratified SALT II Treaty, and shares how he ultimately lost faith in flexible response. He also discusses the extraordinary growth of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe, Britains response to the proposal for a Multilateral Force in the early 1960s, German chancellor Helmut Schmidts distrust of U.S. president Jimmy Carter, and his own opposition to U.S. Euro-strategic missiles. As a fellow defense intellectual, Healey was encouraged by national security adviser Henry Kissingers appointment: he was sure that détente could move forward. He admired Kissingers boldness in dodging all official channels which he doesnt like anybody else doing, but he was disappointed by Kissingers failure to consult with allies. For the future, Healey believes that there should be fifty-percent reductions in strategic and conventional weapons, particularly when one side or the other has superiority. He also advocates a nuclear-free corridor to avoid accidental war.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Education of Robert McNamara, The
- Program Number
106
- Title
Interview with Denis Healey, 1986
- Series Description
The first atomic explosion in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, changed the world forever. This series chronicles these changes and the history of a new era. It traces the development of nuclear weapons, the evolution of nuclear strategy, and the politics of a world with the power to destroy itself.
In thirteen one-hour programs that combine historic footage and recent interviews with key American, Soviet, and European participants, the nuclear age unfolds: the origin and evolution of nuclear weapons; the people of the past who have shaped the events of the present; the ideas and issues that political leaders, scientists, and the public at large must confront, and the prospects for the future. Nuclear Age highlights the profound changes in contemporary thinking imposed by the advent of nuclear weapons. Series release date: 1/1989
- Program Description
In the 1960’s Secretary of Defense Robert Mcnamara confronts the possibility of nuclear war and changes his views on questions of strategy and survival.
McNamara was Secretary of Defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson from 1961 to 1968. By the 1960’s the Soviets’ increased nuclear capabilities raised disturbing questions. What would the United States do if attacked? American strategy had been “massive retaliation.” But, as McNamara explains, it became increasingly apparent to the Soviets that the US was unlikely to respond. If the United States did launch a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, the remaining Soviet forces would destroy the US. McNamara’s Defense Department developed a new strategy. “Flexible response” was based on a “ladder of escalation” from conventional to nuclear options. But by 1967, McNamara, who tried to create rules for limited nuclear war, concluded, “The blunt fact is that neither... can attack the other without being destroyed in retaliation. And it is precisely this ... that provides us both with the strongest possible motives to avoid a nuclear war.”
- Duration
00:47:15
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Taylor, Maxwell D. (Maxwell Davenport), 1901-1987
- Wilson, Harold, 1916-1995
- Deterrence (Strategy)
- Germany
- Richardson, Elliot L., 1920-1999
- Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II
- Afghanistan
- Massive retaliation (Nuclear strategy)
- Kissinger, Henry, 1923-
- Nuclear weapons
- Soviet Union
- Detente
- Tactical nuclear weapons
- Wilson, Harold, 1916-1995
- Great Britain
- Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
- Warfare, Conventional
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Soviet Union. Treaties, etc. United States, 1972 May 26 (ABM)
- McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Nuclear arms control
- Nuclear warfare
- Schmidt, Helmut, 1918 Dec. 23-
- Multilateral force (Nuclear strategy)
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- Sandys, Duncan, 1908-1987
- France
- United States
- Flexible response (Nuclear strategy)
- Locations
- London, United Kingdom
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- Global Affairs
- History
- Science
- War and Conflict
- Contributors
- Healey, Denis (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Denis Healey, 1986,” 10/27/1986, GBH Archives, accessed December 25, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_841B5BEC550448C381A8671A805C7AC4.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Denis Healey, 1986.” 10/27/1986. GBH Archives. Web. December 25, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_841B5BEC550448C381A8671A805C7AC4>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Education of Robert McNamara, The; Interview with Denis Healey, 1986. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_841B5BEC550448C381A8671A805C7AC4