National Defense Strategy

Report Outline
Reappraisal of Defense Program and Policy
Evolution of United States Defense Strategy
Parallel Reassessment of Allied Policy
Foreign Policy Applications of New Concepts
Special Focus

Reappraisal of Defense Program and Policy

The new concept of national defense strategy is coming up for further examination as Congress prepares to act on the military budget of the Eisenhower administration for the fiscal year 1955.

For several weeks in the wake of the Eniwetok-Bikini hydrogen bomb tests, with their disclosure of the devastating power of the newest nuclear weapons, members of Congress have been questioning earlier assumptions about Air Force levels, plans for continental defense, and the overall balance of forces in the military establishment. At the same time, some of the principal allies of the United States have been voicing their concern about the foreign policy counterpart of the so-called “new look” in defense—the doctrine of “massive retaliation” to deter aggression.

Demands for Clarification of the New Look

Requests for further clarification of American defense policies have come from several influential quarters in Congress. Sen. Symington (D., Mo.) opened one line of questioning on Mar. 30 when he criticised proposed budget limitations on the Air Force and demanded full information on the “broad aspects of military strategy.” Symington, who was Secretary of the Air Force in the Truman administration, said that neither he nor many of his colleagues understood important parts of the new look in military planning. Because “proper decisions cannot be made if the facts are not available”. Symington believed the lack of understanding endangered “the future security of the United States.”