Political Policy Or Nuclear War?

Of all the puzzles which a puzzled Eisenhower-Dulles administration has failed to solve, one of the most important is the proper relationship between military power and foreign policy. It is a difficult problem to grasp, let alone solve, and for once one can have some feeling of sympathy for Mr. Dulles as he broods (we hope) over the question: how do the military facts of our time relate to the political needs of American foreign policy? More exactly, assuming a relationship between military power and foreign policy, what is the effect on our foreign policy of current military ideas? Military power never provides a political solution to political problems. But it may appear to do so, and it is therefore important to understand whether or not we are about to be sold another fancy substitute for the unpleasant necessities of politics.

Today military power is with us more than ever, thanks to the popularity of a new military doctrine—the doctrine of limited nuclear war. What ...