I read Ellsberg’s book from a few years back. He originally intended to release documents pertaining to his work at Rand studying nuclear policy, but those documents, squirreled away in a mountain cabin or barn, got washed away in a flood, leaving him only with the Vietnam papers.
His study of nuclear policy at Rand made him one of the few people who understood the entire SIOP — Single Integrated Operational Plan, the country’s nuclear response, in the early ‘60s. One key learning he found was that theater commanders (Europe, Pacific Fleet, etc) could launch a nuclear attack at will without the President’s authorization, if communication channels were severed.
Him and a colleague saw “Doctor Strangelove” at a theater when it was first released. When they exited the theater, they were ashen-faced. What they’d just seen, Ellsberg wrote, was not satire but a documentary. I will always remember that when I rewatch that film.
I read Ellsberg’s book from a few years back. He originally intended to release documents pertaining to his work at Rand studying nuclear policy, but those documents, squirreled away in a mountain cabin or barn, got washed away in a flood, leaving him only with the Vietnam papers.
ReplyDeleteHis study of nuclear policy at Rand made him one of the few people who understood the entire SIOP — Single Integrated Operational Plan, the country’s nuclear response, in the early ‘60s. One key learning he found was that theater commanders (Europe, Pacific Fleet, etc) could launch a nuclear attack at will without the President’s authorization, if communication channels were severed.
Him and a colleague saw “Doctor Strangelove” at a theater when it was first released. When they exited the theater, they were ashen-faced. What they’d just seen, Ellsberg wrote, was not satire but a documentary. I will always remember that when I rewatch that film.