US historical records reveal criminal insanity at heart of NATO ‘Flexible Response’ doctrine

NATO Watch Briefing Paper No.30

13 February 2013

Official US historical records from 1969 to 1973 released in late 2012 reveal how US President Nixon, new National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and other senior US officials discussed fighting a ‘limited nuclear war’ in Europe.  It has long been known that under NATO’s ‘flexible response’ strategy (formally adopted in 1967) it was envisaged that the Alliance and Warsaw Pact forces might end up fighting a relatively prolonged conventional or tactical nuclear battle on German territory.

However, the minutes from several US National Security Council meetings graphically highlight how Henry Kissinger sought assurances from his senior officials that the use of tactical nuclear weapons would not lead to all-out nuclear war.

These historical documents reveal that US and NATO officials could not provide such assurances: they acknowledged that the actual use of tactical nuclear weapons would likely end in further nuclear escalation.  Yet, they continued to contemplate and advocate their use. For further details see the attached PDF file.