Evening star., 1961-09-24
MCNAMARA
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tory power after an attack by
about so per cent.
Six wings of BAT bomberS
will be retained, so about 270
bombers scheduled to be re-
tired from service will continue
to be disable in a nuclear war
this fiscal year.
| Polaris submarine missile
production has been speeded
up by so per cent. Minuteman
missile production has been ac-
celerated and productive ca
pacity doubled.
Construction of warning sys-
TENS has been speeded up.
Communications and military
control systems have been i'm
proved so that nuclear weapons
can be more tightly controlled
by the President.
A fallout shelter program has
been started, showing that this
country is willing to face an
all-out nuclear war, Mr.. Nc
Namara reasons.
! About two thirds OF the added
defense spending has gone for
non-nuclear armS-about The
same ratio of nuclear to con-
ventional spending in the last
several years, according to Pen
tagon Controller Charles J.I
Hatch.
Strengthen Deterrent
The added non-nuclear divi-
SionS, Squadrons and ships wilfI
strengthen, not weaken this
country's nuclear deterrent, Mr..
Mcnamara believes. His rea-
Soning is this:
If United States convention
al forces were weak, most mill
tary threats would have to be
handled by nuclear weapons.
A-bombS are risky to use, so
the United States might choose
lnaction rather than use a
clearly inadequate conventional
defense or a dangerous nuclear
response.
With larger conventional
forces - powerful enough so
that even in Europe they can
be roughly comparable to those
that the Communists could
bring to bear-this country and
NATO obviously will be more
willing to fight, for West Ber-
lin or any other part of the
free world.
Rather Than Lose
Once engaged in a war, it
should be clear to the Commu-
nists that the United States
will use nuclear weapons rath-
er than go down to defeat.
Thus stronger non-nuclear
forces make use of our superior
nuclear defense more likely if
the Communists start a fight.
For instance, if the Commu-
nists shoot down a NATO plane
in an air corridor to West Ber-
lin, NATO forces might shoot
down two of theirs. If the Com
munistS persisted, the exchange
of planes would continue at an
increasing rate, each action
taking this country closer to
use OF nuclear weapons. 1t
should be clear to the Commu-
niSts, Mr.. Mcnamara believes,
that If they persisted in such
an aggression this country
could step in at any time with
A-bombs.
Defense More Effective
| The traditional Sword and
shield" defense for Europe has
been made more effective as a
deterrent, or if necessary, as
a winning strategy, Mr.. Nc
Namara believes.
In brief, this strategy is for
forces in Europe, conventional
if possible, to contain a Com
munist aggression. This is the
shield. If local forces cannot
repel the attack, then the
sword-America's and Britain's
long-range bombers and mis-
siles-would strike the enemy.
4 The administration is giving
the shield forces more strength
so that they can handle larger
aggression alone. 1t is also
strengthening the sword and
making its use more creditable.
This, Mr.. Mcnamara believes,
has improved this country's
ability to deter or fight both
nuclear and non-nuclear wars.
And he is confident that the
Kremlin leaders see this clearly.