Though it is possible to print these browsable pages at fax quality, the result will be unsatisfactory. More information on the Open Book is available. Copyright 1999, the Brookings Institution Press. Of all the many policies our citizens deserve and need to understand, none is so important as those related to our topic to- day the uses of military power. Deterrence will work only if the Soviets understand our firm commitment to keeping the peace, . . . and only from a well-informed public can we expect to have that national will and commitment.
National power has many components, some tangible like economic wealth, technical pre-eminence.
Other components are intangible such as moral force, or strong national win. Our policy has always been to work hard for peace, but to be prepared if war comes. We must be prepared, at any moment, to meet threats ranging in intensity from isolated terrorist acts, to guerflla action, to full-scale military confrontation. If it was true then, how much more true it is today, when we must remain ready to consider the means to meet such serious indirect challenges to the peace as proxy wars and individual terrorist action. And how much more important is it now, considering the consequences of falling to deter conflict at the lowest level possible.