Paul R. Ignatius, War On The Rocks: On Military Innovation, the More Things Change, the More Things Stay the Same
Although I served in the Pentagon more than a half century ago, I can remember some events from my eight years there from the beginning of President John F. Kennedy’s administration to the end of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s that have not lost their relevance with the passage of time.
A book of that time, The Uncertain Trumpet, by former Army Chief of Staff Maxwell D. Taylor, challenged the then-dominant strategy of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons. The reliance on massive retaliation to cope with all military challenges, Taylor argued, offered “our leadership only two choices, the initiation of general nuclear war or compromise and retreat.” While he continued to support a strong nuclear deterrent, he wanted usable combat power, which he called “flexible response.”
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WNU Editor: I am old enough to know that things do change. Some good. Some bad. But with time things do change. The military is no exception.
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