Political Quotes

“I have followed very carefully his points here. As a matter of fact, it is basically a recitation--and I say this most respectfully--of the points the Senator made last year. The Senator has been consistent in his message. But I was taken by his closing remarks of the history of the relationship between those nations possessing intercontinental systems and how our planet has thus far avoided any confrontation. This is a subject that I have been dealing with since 1969 when I went to the Department of the Navy, I do not want to calculate how many years ago. But the Senator is absolutely right; it was the deterrence that prevented any confrontation between the former Soviet Union and the United States of America. It was the doctrine of mass destruction, mutual massive destruction. But we were dealing in those days, despite our antipathy toward communism, with governments, with military organizations that were able to grasp the reality of mutual assured destruction and had a very tight command and control over every single one of those sites. I should say that in the many years I followed this, having served on the Intelligence Committee, there were isolated incidents where there was alcohol involved on a site here and there. We saw the occasional reports. But, fortunately, the command and control was exercised so as to eliminate what I personally regard as the prime reason for this expenditure, the accidental or unintentional firing.…”