135 Rinehart, Teller, Luce quotes: Quoted in Killian, op. cit., pp. 6–7.
135 “the American people”: Memo, George Reedy to Lyndon Johnson, Oct. 17, 1957, p. 2, Senate Office Files of George Reedy, Box 420, Reedy: Memos, Oct. 1957 folder, LBJL.
137 Reexamination: NSC-141, Jan. 19, 1953, Collection of NSC Documents, NA/MMB; that Nitze, Nash and Bissell wrote it comes from interviews.
137 “The willingness”: Ibid., p. 7.
138 “this would present”: Ibid., p. 73. 138 “adequate civil defense”: Ibid., p. 83.
138 NSC-68: NSC-68, Apr. 7, 1950, in U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, Vol. I (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1977), pp. 234–92. For fuller treatments of NSC-68, see Fred Kaplan, “Our Cold War Policy, Circa ’50,” New York Times Magazine, May 18, 1980; Paul Y. Hammond, “NSC-68: Prologue to Rearmament,” in Warner R. Schilling, Paul Y. Hammond, Glenn H. Snyder, Strategy, Politics, and Defense Budgets (Columbia Univ. Press, 1962), pp. 267–378.
138 Kennan against buildup: See U.S. Department of State, op. cit., pp. 164, 278, 282.
139 “a joy”: Dean Acheson, Present at the Creation (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1969), p. 373.
139 “calculates that”: U.S. Department of State, op. cit., p. 266.
139 1954: Ibid., pp. 251, 267, 287.
139 “of such weight”: Ibid., p. 287.
139 “Kremlin’s design”: Ibid., p. 245.
139 “The Kremlin is”: Ibid., p. 246.
139 “the principal center”: Ibid., p. 238.
140 “becoming dangerously”: Ibid., p. 262.
140 “assault on free”: Ibid., p. 240.
140 “to foster”: Ibid., pp. 252, 258.
140 “The purpose”: Acheson, op. cit., p. 374.
140 “task of”: Ibid., p. 375.
140 Murphy scared: Daniel Yergin, Shattered Peace (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1977), p. 403.
140 NSC-68 adopted: U.S. Department of State, op. cit., p. 400.
140–41 fiscal year 1951 budget: Hammond, op. cit., p. 357.
141 “The evidence clearly”: Deterrence and Survival in the Nuclear Age, p. 1.
141 “to finance both”: Ibid., p. 4.
142 “current vulnerability”: Ibid., pp. 5–6.
142 “the USSR may”: Ibid., p. 14.
9: THE REPORT OF MAXIMUM DANGER
144 Gaither recommendations: Deterrence and Survival in the Nuclear Age, Nov. 7, 1957, pp. 6–7, declassified and published by Joint Committee on Defense Production, U.S. Congress, 1976.
145 “Highest” and “Lower Than Highest Value”: Ibid., pp. 23–24.
145 fiscal year 1954 defense budget: Glenn H. Snyder, “The ‘New Look’ of 1953,” in Warner R. Schilling, Paul Y. Hammond, Glenn H. Snyder, Strategy, Politics, and Defense Budgets (Columbia Univ. Press, 1962), p. 396.
145 Norstad remark: Cable, Norstad to Gen. Thomas White, June 10, 1953, Nathan Twining Papers, Box 102, 2nd Tab 28, LoC.*
145 “single critical”: Letter, Eisenhower to Charles Wilson, Ann Whitman File, DDE Diary Series, Box 9, DDE Diary, Jan. 1955 (2), DDEL. According to the letter, Eisenhower released it publicly.
146 “a respectable posture”: E.g., Andrew Goodpaster, Memo of Conference with President, May 18, 1956, Ann Whitman File, DDE Diary Series, Box 15, May 1956 Goodpaster folder, DDEL.
146 November 4 meeting: Account and quotes from Andrew Goodpaster, Memo of Conference with President, Nov. 4, 1957, White House Office file, Office of the Staff Secretary, Subject Series, Alpha Subseries, Box 23, Science Advisory Committee (3) folder, DDEL.*
146 November 7 meeting: Morton Halperin, “The Gaither Committee and the Policy Process,” World Politics, Apr. 1961; and interviews.
150 Sprague private meeting: Andrew Goodpaster, Memo of Conference with President, Following NSC Meeting, Nov. 7, 1957, White House Office files, Office of Staff Secretary, Subject Series, DoD Subseries, Box 6, Military Planning 1958–61 folder, DDEL; and interviews.
151 Sprague comments to Goodpaster: Handwritten memo by Goodpaster labeled “Gaither Advisory Group, November 7,” ibid. (thanks to staff of Eisenhower Library for identifying Goodpaster’s handwriting).
152 Eisenhower and intelligence: See Stephen Ambrose, Ike’s Spies (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1981); and interviews.
152 detailed commentary: See NSC-5724/1, Office of Special Assistant for National Security Affairs file, NSC Series, Policy Papers Subseries, Box 22, NSC-5724 folder, DDEL: for DoD and JCS response, see JCS-2101/289, Jan. 21, 1958, JCS 2101/296 of Mar. 3, 1958, and JCS-2101/302 of Mar. 26, 1958, all in Records of JCS, CCS 381 US (1-31-50), Sees. 74–76; and JCS Memorandum for Secretary of Defense, CM-117-58, May 8, 1958, Records of JCS, CCS 013.26 (6-23-49), Sec. 4; both in NA/MMB.
152 NSC meetings: They took place in early Jan., Jan. 16, and Apr. 24, 1958. “Briefing Note on Jan. 16/58 Meeting,” Office of Special Assistant for National Security Affairs file, Special Assistant Series, Chron Subseries, Box 5, Jan. 1958 (1) folder; and Ann Whitman File, NSC Series, Box 10, 363rd Meeting of NSC folder; both in DDEL.
152 Foster dinner: Halperin, op. cit.;“Group Discusses Threat to Nation,” New York Times, Dec. 11, 1957; “President Backs ‘Alert’ Advocates,” New York Times, Dec. 12, 1957; and interviews.
154 Eisenhower and leak: James R. Killian, Jr., Sputnik, Scientists, and Eisenhower (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1977), p. 97; and interviews.
154 congressmen demand release: “Senators Call for Release,” New York Times, December 21, 1957; “House Unit Plans Shelter Action,” New York Times, December 23, 1957; “Release of Gaither Data Is Urged by Legislators,” Washington Post, December 25, 1957; Telephone Call to Senator [Lyndon] Johnson, December 23, 1957, John Foster Dulles Papers, Box 7, Memo TelCon, General, 11/1-12/27/57 (1) folder, DDEL.
10: THE MISSILE GAP
155 “first, destroy or”: “Estimate of Sino-Soviet Bloc Capabilities World-Wide, ’59–63 and Assessment of Dimensions of Soviet ICBM Threat to Security of U.S.,” p. 2, Thomas White Papers, Box 6, McConnell Report folder, LoC.*
155 “the Soviets might”: Ibid., p. 8.*
155 November 12 NIE: Summarized in memo, Lawrence McQuade to Paul Nitze, “But Where Did the Missile Gap Go?,” May 31, 1963, p. 7, National Security File, Box 298, Missile Gap, Feb.–May 1963, JFKL.
155 number of Atlas missiles: Letter, Sen. Stuart Symington to Eisenhower, Aug. 29, 1958, White House office file, Office of Staff Secretary, Subject Series, Alpha Subseries, Box 24, Symington Letter [8–12/58] folder, DDEL.
156 1955 air-show overcount: Lawrence Freedman, U.S. Intelligence and the Soviet Strategic Threat (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1977), p. 66. The rest of the section on the bomber gap comes, unless otherwise specified, from interviews.