GBH Openvault
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A At The Brink; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [1]
Part of War and Peace in the Nuclear Age.
03/10/1986
For nearly half a century, Paul Nitze was one of the chief architects of U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union. In the interview he discusses Americas nuclear posture under the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson administrations. He describes his immediate reaction against John Foster Dulles massive retaliation strategy. He explains the Gaither Committee Report, his role in shaping its content, and Eisenhowers reaction to it. He discusses the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and explains the options available to the United States at the time. He describes the transition from the Eisenhower to Kennedy administration, focusing on the nuclear strategy of Robert McNamara. He supported the counterforce doctrine and military build up, although he also goes into detail about budgetary concerns, noting that balance that needs to be struck between what nuclear forces are desirable and what the country can afford. He describes McNamaras shift in policy from counterforce to mutual assured destruction (MAD). He concludes by noting that the nuclear posture of the United States suffered during the late 60s and early 70s because so many of the resources were being poured into the Vietnam War.
License Clip
- Series
- War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
- Program
- Bigger Bang for the Buck, A At The Brink
- Program Number
103 105
- Title
Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [1]
- 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
- Duration
00:20:57
- Asset Type
Raw video
- Media Type
Video
- Subjects
- Nuclear warfare
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
- Sprague, Robert C. (Robert Chapman), 1900-
- Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- Nuclear weapons
- Wohlstetter, Albert J.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- United States
- Soviet Union
- Warsaw Treaty Organization
- Gaither Report (1957)
- Nuclear survivability
- Antimissile missiles
- McNamara, Robert S., 1916-2009
- Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
- McCloy, John J. (John Jay), 1895-1989
- Mutual assured destruction
- Massive retaliation (Nuclear strategy)
- Kaufmann, William W.
- Bowie, Robert R. (Robert Richardson), 1909-
- Berlin (Germany) -- History-- Crisis, 1961
- Kaysen, Carl
- Dulles, John Foster, 1888-1959
- Counterforce (Nuclear strategy)
- Germany
- Berlin (Germany)
- United States. Air Force
- Locations
- Washington, DC
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- Science
- War and Conflict
- History
- Global Affairs
- Contributors
- Nitze, Paul H. (Interviewee)
- Publication Information
- WGBH Educational Foundation
- Citation
- Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A At The Brink; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [1],” 03/10/1986, GBH Archives, accessed December 22, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_26014BC781A142EBB17DF63F3D474CE3.
- MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A At The Brink; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [1].” 03/10/1986. GBH Archives. Web. December 22, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_26014BC781A142EBB17DF63F3D474CE3>.
- APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Bigger Bang for the Buck, A At The Brink; Interview with Paul Nitze, 1986 [1]. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_26014BC781A142EBB17DF63F3D474CE3