ABSTRACT
The fundamental strategic issues, appear to be the interrelationships that exist between military force capability as a means of national power and the ends or aims of defense policy. Prior to the availability of nuclear weapons, a failure of deterrence most likely would result in a classical military struggle between the protagonists. A major consequence of this competitive balance has been the relatively minor but nonetheless frequent alteration of stated United States strategic nuclear policy since the demise of Massive Retaliation. Any suggestion that one should make qualitative or quantitative improvements in the strategic nuclear balance to gain advantage in a regional crisis involving the superpowers should be subjected to a most rigorous analysis. One of the essential requirements for the United States is to assure that its nuclear force structure does not appear to be inferior to the perceived capability of Soviet nuclear force. American policy includes this criterion as part of a revised definition of essential equivalence.
