Thinking About Nuclear Weapons
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Authors
Lee, John Marshall
Issue Date
1984-02-15
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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Admiral Lee held sea assignments until 1959. Then in succession, he was the director of politico-military policy in the Office of Chief of Naval Operations, director of policy planning in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ISA), a 7th Fleet commander, director of Naval Warfare Analysis in the Office of Chief Naval Operations during Vietnam, Deputy US Representative to NATO Military Command, Vice Director, International Military Staff, US MIlitary Representative to the United Nations, and Assistant Director of Weapons Evaluation and Control in the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
SUMMARY
Admiral Lee's message was a strong endorsement of the Gang of Four's no first use of the nukes proposal. He argued that we are beyond the point where targeted peoples can recover from a nuclear exchange -- and, if more than a quarter of the inventory is used, we are beyond the point that mankind can survive. Second, escalation in nuclear conflict is inevitable. Threatening to use nuclear weapons to prevent defeat in a conventional war is suicide. The top priority of our time is preventing this war; this is a tough position for human beings taught from eternity that more is better. Must stop thinking that command, control, and communication would make nuclear war manageable. Nuclear weapons have no military purpose. The concept of extended deterrence is eroding; our allies are exposed and cannot be covered any longer by further nuclear buildup. Even my graduate students in the last 18 months have stopped disagreeing with me when I make these points. Admiral Lee in Q+A said the US public and many officials oppose adopting a no first use policy. Given NATO's weak conventional force and limited funds building MX missiles at this time instead of beefing up conventional force weakens NATO defense and builds tension.
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