PEACE AND THE STRATEGY CONFLICT

by William R. Kintner ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1967

Sinophobia may be the most popular political posture in the United States today, but there are still some strategists who persist in naming the Soviet Union as our principal potential enemy. Mr. Kintner is one of these, and his theses are laced together with phrases which, while urgent enough, have a curiously dated ring to them: ""to close a missile gap,"" for instance. There is only one means to peace in his view, and that is through a continued, massive U.S. nuclear superiority. The Russians are catching up to our ""kill-potential,"" he says, and their ballistic-missile defenses ""may become an extensive capability."" Secretary McNamara, he fears, ""may be too optimistic,"" and therefore we should ""enhance"" our weaponry, and also undertake some kind of shelter program and ABM (anti-ballistic missile) systems. Mr. Kintner has marshalled a welter of quotations to decorate his argument, but his role of special pleader for the Air Force detracts somewhat, particularly when he tub-thumps for a new manned bomber. And where, for example, he describes de Tocqueville as a ""defender of democracy,"" one cannot help wondering how much weight to give to his lesser-known sources; or, indeed, what he really means when he uses words like ""democracy"" or ""peace.

Pub Date: July 1, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Praeger

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION