Interview with Lew Allen, 1987

Item Information

Title:
Interview with Lew Allen, 1987
Description:
Gen. Lew Allen was a U.S. Air Force four-star General and the tenth chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force from 1978-1982. In the interview he discusses the development of the Minuteman and MX missile systems. He describes the triad defense system, which includes land, air, and sea defenses, and emphasizes the importance of each leg of the triad. He explains the development of U.S. military technology emphasizing accuracy and efficiency in relation to what they knew the Soviets were developing – emphasizing survivability of command. He explains that since the Soviets put so much effort into ensuring that their leadership would survive a nuclear attack, the U.S. had to do all that it could to develop weapons that would make them question their ability to do so, which would continue to deter nuclear war. He compares the Carter and Reagan administrations’ approaches to missile design. He goes into detail about the latter’s approach to defense policy, which was designed for a no-arms-control environment. When the Reagan administration vetoed the MX Missile base system, Allen argues, the entire system was jeopardized. He goes on to describe alternatives to the MX and to draw lessons from the whole experience.
Interviewee:
Allen, Lew, 1925-2010
Date:
February 21, 1987
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
WGBH
Collection (local):
WGBH Open Vault
Series:
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Subjects:
Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles
Military weapons
Nuclear weapons
Nuclear survivability
Trident (Weapons systems)
Van Cleave, William R.
Environmental protection
Intercontinental ballistic missiles
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II
Rand Corporation
Weinberger, Caspar W.
Nuclear warfare
United States. Air Force
Minuteman (Missile)
Reagan, Ronald
United States. President’s Commission on Strategic Forces
Nuclear arms control
Strategic nuclear forces triad
MX (Weapons system)
Presidents--United States--Election--1980
Townes Commission
Intercontinental ballistic missiles--Mobile basing
Townes, Charles H.
Deterrence (Strategy)
Targeting (Nuclear strategy)
United States. Air Force. Ballistic Missile Office
Haig, Alexander Meigs, 1924-2010
Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
Chayes, Antonia Handler, 1929-
Toomay, J. C. (John C.), 1922-
Jones, David C., 1921-
Places:
California > Los Angeles (county) > Pasadena
Extent:
01:00:12:02
Link to Item:
http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_54E5D301BB3A489999370C9A8F65C006
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
WGBH Educational Foundation
Identifier:
V_54E5D301BB3A489999370C9A8F65C006