St. Joseph Church
Bristol, Connecticut

Deacon Robert M. Pallotti
Pastoral Minister

A Concise Historical Survey of the Nuclear Era

Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 many people have turned their attention away from the remaining nuclear problem in our world. Their attention was once more roused when India and Pakistan tested nuclear in May of 1998. But soon other events took attention away from the nuclear problem. Some experts estimate that the spread of nuclear weapons is inevitable to some degree. How serious the threat for the continued spread of nuclear weapons is hard to say. However, emerging nations will have some incentive to acquire such weapons especially if they feel that their national interests and those of the major world powers are in conflict.

This brief survey of the nuclear age has been developed to give a concise overview of the nuclear age for those unwilling or unable to read and study on an extensive level the complexities of the nuclear age. For Christian peacemakers this is designed to give a handy reference for discussion and action purposes.

The Period of U.S. Nuclear Monopoly, 1945-50

During this period the United States enjoyed a nuclear monopoly. The United States viewed the atomic bomb as a weapon that could deter the Soviet Union from using its large army to invade Western Europe. This remained the situation until the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic device in 1949.

This period of the Cold War was typified by the United States holding a tremendous advantage in nuclear weapons vis a vis the Soviet Union. In order to deter the Soviet Union from attacking Western NATO nations, or their vital interests, the U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles announced the United States policy of massive retaliation. This policy stated that the United States reserve the right to use nuclear weapons in the place and time of its choosing to dissuade the Soviet Union from actions hostile to the interests and territory of the United States and its allies.

The Period of U.S. Preponderance (Mutual Assured Destruction, M.A.D.) 1958-1966

With the development of the hydrogen bomb by the United States (1952) and the Soviet Union (1954) nuclear weapons became thousands of times more powerful than atomic bombs. Emphasis in this period was placed on the ability to control the level of violence at every stage of escalation of hostilities. This became known as climbing the escalation ladder. The theory that espoused this desire to control escalation with advantage to the side escalating is known as escalation dominance. This was the age of the fallout shelter and the air raid drill. The United States maintained its large lead in nuclear weapons. However, with the successful Soviet rocket launch and deployment of the simple Sputnik satellite in October of 1957 the threat of ballistic missiles led to a new phase of the arms race to acquire ICBMs. It was during this period that the superpowers were the closest they have come to all out nuclear war in what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It was also in this period when counterforce planning became the operational policy of the United States. (cf. Glossary for Catholic Teaching on War and Peace)

The Period of Essential Equivalence: (Limited Nuclear War, Nuclear Utilization Theories, (N.U.T.S.) 1967 to Present

With the arrival of MIRVs in the 1970’s the temptation to move to a first-strike planning become enormous. As weapons got more accurate and lethal there evolved strong incentives to use nuclear weapons got more accurate and lethal there evolved strong incentives to use nuclear weapons first in the midst of a crisis before the other side could destroy them, use ‘em or lose ‘em.(cf. The Effects of Nuclear Explosions) These developments combined with the renewal of interest in ABM systems creating crisis instability. In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union and moved quickly to remove some of the nuclear threat through negotiation with the U.S. leading to the INF and START I treaties, which led to the destruction of thousands of nuclear weapons. These efforts have continued with START II and possibly START III. (cf. Strategic Arms Reductions Talks II and Strategic Arms Reduction Talks III)

Compiled by Deacon Robert M. Pallotti, D. Min.
Created 2/5/2001