Existing comment:
Preparing for Nuclear War:
"I got the conclusion that not very much could or would be done; that whatever was done would involve a great deal of publicity and public alarm."
-- John McCone, Director of Central Intelligence, after a briefing on the nation's ability to prepare for and withstand a Soviet nuclear attack, October 23, 1962
In the summer and fall of 1961, as tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union escalated, President Kennedy announced a massive program to build and stock fallout shelters across the country:
"In the event of an attack, the lives of those families which are not hit in a nuclear blast and fire can still be saved -- if they can be warned to take shelter and if that shelter is available. We owe that kind of insurance to our families -- and to our country."
But after consulting most closely with his science advisers, JFK became less confident in the ability to dramatically limit casualties with an extensive system of fallout shelters. |