McNamara's 'No Cities' Speech

摘要

In a famous address in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1962, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara unveiled a controversial nuclear idea; he argued that, should Moscow attack NATO with nuclear weapons, the US would hew to a "no cities" retaliation plan. In such a war, he went on, the goal should be "destruction of the enemy's military forces, not of his civilian population." His remarks kicked up a furor, and he soon de-emphasized the no-cities idea. The public feared "limited war" would make nuclear usage more likely. The Pentagon chief soon embraced "assured destruction," though plans for less-than-all-out war continued.