The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968 a Dissertation Presented
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The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968 A dissertation presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Robert Thomas Davis II August 2008 © 2008 Robert Thomas Davis II All Rights Reserved ii This dissertation titled The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968 by ROBERT THOMAS DAVIS II has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by ______________________________ Peter John Brobst Associate Professor of History ______________________________ Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences iii Abstract DAVIS, ROBERT THOMAS II, Ph.D., August 2008, History The Dilemma of NATO Strategy, 1949-1968 (422 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Peter John Brobst This study is a reappraisal of the strategic dilemma of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Cold War. This dilemma revolves around the problem of articulating a strategic concept for a military alliance in the nuclear era. NATO was born of a perceived need to defend Western Europe from a Soviet onslaught. It was an imperative of the early alliance to develop a military strategy and force posture to defend Western Europe should such a war break out. It was not long after the first iteration of strategy took shape than the imperative for a military defense of Europe receded under the looming threat of thermonuclear war. The advent of thermonuclear arsenals in both the United States and Soviet Union brought with it the potential destruction of civilization should war break out. This realization made statesmen on both sides of the Iron Curtain undergo what has been referred to as an ongoing process of nuclear learning. This led to deterrence, rather than defense, being the priority for both the NATO allies and the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact. But fundamental tensions remained, and a need for military strategies seemed to remain. The problem was to then gauge how important conventional forces, tactical nuclear weapons, and strategic nuclear forces were to determine force postures that provided the most effective combination of deterrence and defense. iv The first chapter is an overview of the development of Western defense policy and strategy in the early years of the Cold War. The second chapter looks at the development of NATO down to the important Lisbon conference of 1952, where it briefly seemed NATO might embrace the defense of Europe based on conventional forces. Chapter three addresses the attempts by the British and Americans to assert “new looks” towards NATO strategy in the wake of the blossoming thermonuclear age which resulted in the strategy popularly referred to as massive retaliation. Chapter four discusses the critique of the strategy of massive retaliation which developed in the late 1950s. Chapter five, in turn, studies the problems faced by the Kennedy administration when it tried to advance a strategy known as flexible response as an alternative to massive retaliation. The sixth chapter chronicles the strange resilience of flexible response in the period after Kennedy’s death. Flexible response eventually became NATO’s official strategy late in 1967 and remained so until the end of the Cold War. But its ambiguity, a feature which had marked alliance strategy since the late 1950s, meant that the change in strategy did little to resolve the fundamental dilemma of articulating strategy in the context of the Cold War in Europe. The epilogue discusses how the dilemmas and ambiguities of flexible response played out in the final two decades of the Cold War and how the problem of its interpretation lay at the heart of the ongoing debates over NATO strategy. Approved: Peter John Brobst Associate Professor of History v Acknowledgements As is the nature of any large scale undertaking, I have accumulated a great many debts in the course of completing my dissertation. First, I would like to thank the staffs of the Eisenhower (Abilene, KS), Johnson (Austin, TX), Kennedy (Boston, MA), and Truman (Independence, MO) Presidential Libraries, the US National Archives and Nixon Presidential Materials (College Park, MD), the US Naval Operational Archives (Washington Naval Yard), the British National Archives (Kew, England), the Imperial War Museum (London, England), NATO Archives (Brussels, Belgium), and the Nobel Institute (Oslo, Norway) whose assistance was essential for the completion of my dissertation research. Frances Carter provided a wonderful bit of respite on all my trips to Kew, England. The librarians at the British Museum, Ohio University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Oslo also offered assistance. Dr. Ed Marolda and the rest of the staff at the Naval Historical Center provided a good deal of encouragement when my research (on a somewhat different topic) was getting under way. They were also kind enough to provide a good deal of constructive criticism late in the process when they invited me back to the Washington Naval Yard to present some of my findings. Adam Nordstrom, Brent and Renee Geary, and Ben and Kim Jordan were all kind enough to provide me with lodgings and good company on several of my research visits to Washington, DC. My history career owes much to a number of wonderful teachers and professors over the years. My parents, Norman and Tina Davis, have always encouraged my pursuit of learning. Steve Denny, Dana Engleman, and Gayle Garrelts all did a lot to set me vi down the scholar’s path. At the University of Kansas, I had stimulating courses in history with Professors Anna Cienciala, J.C.D. Clark, Lloyd Sponholtz, Carl Strikwerda, Bill Tsutsui, and Ted Wilson. Professor Rose Greaves, a stimulating mentor to myself and many others through the years, deserves special mention. During my many pleasant years as a graduate student at Ohio University, I enjoyed my association with many people in the Department of History and Contemporary History Institute. I had the good fortune to be associated with a number of fine scholars whose examples have encouraged me over the years. These included Professors Charles Alexander, David Curp, Marvin Fletcher, Bill Frederick, Patrick Griffin, Alonzo Hamby, Jeffery Herf, Joan Hoff, Harold Molineu, Chester Pach, Sholeh Quinn, and Bruce Steiner. My academic career was guided by Professors John Brobst, Norman Goda, Donald Jordan, and Steven Miner. Thanks to the Hamby, Jordan, Miner, and Goda families for helping me feel more at home in Athens, Ohio. Professor Chester Pach has also given considerably of his time to me over the last few years, and has provided an admirable example of rigorous scholarship and service to the department. I would also like to thank Kara Dunfee, who always made my visits to Brown House very pleasant. Kara, Misty Milstead and Sherry Gillogly all deserve thanks for assistance navigating the university bureaucracy over the years. My advisor, John Brobst, has patiently directed this project as it has evolved over the last few years. I deeply appreciate the advice and guidance he has provided. I was fortunate in graduate school to make a number of great friends, many of whom had to listen to all too many hours of my weekly Courtside Pizza/Tony’s stammtisch. The old guard included such worthies as Rachel Ayerst, Jeff and Andrea vii Bloodworth, Tom and Terrie Bruscino, Anna Dzirkalis and JD Wyneken, Ricky Garlitz, Brent and Renee Geary, Steve George, Kassi and Kevin Klinefelter, Ren Lessard, Steve Manfredi, Tina and Nexh Morina, Matt Moss, Amaryah Orenstein, Mark Rice, Seung- Won Song, Steve Tootle, James Uhler, and James and Ophelia Waite. Owing to the considerable duration of my stay in Athens, there was plenty of time for their to be a new guard as well, including John and Deborah Blom, Renee Lafleur, Christian Peterson, John and Anna Peterson, Briana Sauer, Matt Shipton and Elizabeth Lanier-Shipton, and a host of others. JD, Ricky, and John Blom all weathered stints of various time as apartment mates. Tom and I had the good fortune to traipse all over the state of Ohio together in search of book sales. All four were fine companions in academic and other pursuits. Thanks too to all my OU students over the years, who made me realize how rewarding teaching can be, and all the STUF gang for helping me remember that there is more to graduate school than trips to the library. A good deal of my research got under way during a year I spent in Oslo, Norway on a Fulbright scholarship. I owe a large debt of gratitude to Beth Clodfelter at Ohio University who encouraged me and skillfully guided me through the application process. Helge Pharo at the University of Oslo and Rolf Tamnes at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies generously supported my application. Professor Pharo and Professor Geir Lundestad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, and the staff of the Norwegian Atlantic Committee all helped facilitate my research needs during my stay. Hallvard Notaker and Tove Knudsen, both in their own ways, greatly enriched both my year viii abroad and became good friends. And thanks to all my fellow Fulbrighters who helped me make the most of the year. A number of friends and family members helped me edit my often convoluted prose into what follows. Of course, I retain full responsibility for any and all mistakes. My father Norman Davis and bother Stephen Davis read through numerous chapters for me. Ricky Garlitz, Kassi Klinefelter, Becky Miller, and Mark Rice all helped with various drafts of chapters, often on short notice. I also greatly appreciate the perceptive and probing comments of my committee members: Professors Brobst, Goda, Miner, Molineu, and Pach. Terrie Bruscino, who already has her hands full with a wonderful family, kindly agreed to assist in the final formatting of my dissertation.