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Us Nuclear Strategy From 1954 To 1988

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United States Nuclear Strategy From 1954-1988. An essay submission in partial fulfillment of the requirements for PS 5332. By Jaenie Gonzalez Summer 2024 Texas State University Between 1954 and 1988, the United States experienced constant shifts in its nuclear strategy. This is because, throughout this period, various presidents possessed differing viewpoints on what nuclear strategies were best to navigate the challenges and threats the Soviet Union (USSR) posed to the United States. While Dwight D. Eisenhower implemented the nuclear strategy of massive retaliation (MR) during his time as president, John F. Kennedy transformed the United States’ nuclear strategy into one of flexible response (FR). When President Lydon B. …show more content…

Therefore, contrary to massive retaliation, flexible response, and mutual assured deterrence, NUT was an offensive strategy that relied on the United States to strike the Soviet Union first. Offensive realism explains that in Reagan’s view, striking the Soviet Union before it had a chance to attack the United States would inhibit the USSR from rising to power and pose a greater threat to the USA. By minimizing the USSR’s power by being the first to strike, Reagan hoped that the United States would be able to maximize its own power. Overall, defensive realism and offensive realism both offer valuable insights into the motivations behind the various nuclear strategies that existed in the United States from 1954 to 1988. However, defensive realism covers a wider range of strategies within this time period, such as massive retaliation, flexible response, and mutual assured deterrence. The benefit of understanding the motivations that led to the implementation of each strategy is that it will allow us to form a more educated opinion

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