Documents: 📄 Full Publication (PDF)
Robert McNamara
"I think the human race needs to think about killing. How much evil must we do to do good?"
Key Insights
Under Kennedy and Johnson, McNamara was US Secretary of Defense. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, McNamara was part of the US Executive Committee, which governed US decision-making. Supporting the Domino Theory, McNamara later oversaw the US engagement in the Vietnam War. Despite being labelled the architect of the Vietnam War, McNamara later expressed regret for the war.
Written by Pablo Mathis
27 February 2023 · 00:00 CETUpdated 21 June 2026 · 18:25 CET
Continue Reading
Arms Control & Disarmament
Counterforce and Countervalue
Counterforce describes the ability to conduct nuclear strikes against militarily relevant targets such as army bases. Counterforce strikes depend on smaller, tactical nuclear weapons. Countervalue describes nuclear attacks against non-military targets such as cities. In doing so, larger strategic…
Arms Control & Disarmament
Offence-Defence Balance
The offence-defence balance is the ratio between the resources belligerents need to conduct offensive or defensive operations. For example, a ratio of 1:4 would indicate that a defender needs one soldier to defend against four attackers. Realists have often sought to use the offence-defence balan…
Arms Control & Disarmament
Nuclear Triad
The nuclear triad describes the capability of a military to deliver nuclear warheads via bombers, in missile silos on land and submarines. Nuclear missiles based on land are often classified as Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). Submarines may carry Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles…
Arms Control & Disarmament
Mutually Assured Destruction
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a nuclear doctrine first coined by Herman Kahn of the US Hudson Institute. It asserts that a nuclear attack would result in the annihilation of both parties. MAD assumes the attacked party would retain enough nuclear weapons to launch a second strike. During …