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NARRATION:
At the start of the 1960s
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00:00:07,374 --> 00:00:10,253
Cold War tensions
were heightening.
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00:00:13,913 --> 00:00:16,587
Confrontation threatened.
4
00:00:21,321 --> 00:00:23,824
The two superpowers
watched and waited,
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00:00:23,890 --> 00:00:27,895
preparing for
a nuclear holocaust.
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00:00:27,961 --> 00:00:31,636
The world's safety depended on
mutual assured destruction -
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00:00:31,698 --> 00:00:35,475
the treat of mutual suicide that
came to be known as M.A.D. -
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00:00:35,535 --> 00:00:38,141
MAD.
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00:00:38,204 --> 00:00:39,808
It's not mad!
[ Laughs ]
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00:00:39,873 --> 00:00:43,548
Mutual Assured Destruction is
the foundation of deterrence.
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00:00:52,986 --> 00:00:53,987
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00:01:36,129 --> 00:01:40,100
NARRATION: On the 1st of
July 1960 an American RB-47
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00:01:40,166 --> 00:01:42,908
reconnaissance plane like this
took off on a routine
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00:01:42,969 --> 00:01:46,143
mission to probe the radar
defenses of the Soviet border.
15
00:01:48,908 --> 00:01:51,889
COL. JOHN McKONE: We took off from
Brize Norton Air Base in England.
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00:01:51,945 --> 00:01:53,720
That was our
forward operating
17
00:01:53,780 --> 00:01:55,623
location on that particular date,
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00:01:55,682 --> 00:02:00,825
and we were supposed to fly
this quote-unquoted 'milk run'.
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00:02:00,887 --> 00:02:03,333
There were not supposed to be any
particular problems during that
20
00:02:03,389 --> 00:02:08,168
flight and we thought that
this would be a rather...
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00:02:08,228 --> 00:02:11,971
rather simple flight, although
it was a twelve-hour mission.
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00:02:12,031 --> 00:02:13,601
[speaking Russian ]
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00:02:13,666 --> 00:02:17,170
They flew in order to
detect our radar stations.
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00:02:17,237 --> 00:02:19,615
The wanted to know the location
of the air defense system of
25
00:02:19,672 --> 00:02:23,245
the Soviet Union.
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00:02:23,309 --> 00:02:26,586
They often flew close
to our borders.
27
00:02:26,646 --> 00:02:29,752
We started flying parallel
to the Soviet coastline,
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00:02:29,816 --> 00:02:32,319
which had Murmansk
and the mouth of the
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00:02:32,385 --> 00:02:34,558
White Sea and so
forth up there,
30
00:02:34,621 --> 00:02:35,929
and we knew there was
quite a bit of activity
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00:02:35,989 --> 00:02:38,526
going on up there by the
Russians at that time.
32
00:02:40,593 --> 00:02:42,436
[speaking Russian ]
33
00:02:42,495 --> 00:02:45,101
I was on combat
duty to intercept,
34
00:02:45,165 --> 00:02:47,839
and I flew up
to find the enemy.
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00:02:50,603 --> 00:02:54,278
I was guided
from the ground.
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00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:56,684
When I saw the enemy plane,
I identified it,
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00:02:56,743 --> 00:02:59,622
and radioed my base.
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00:02:59,679 --> 00:03:01,522
The co-pilot said,
'Check, check, check,
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00:03:01,581 --> 00:03:02,889
right wing',
40
00:03:02,949 --> 00:03:05,429
and the aircraft commander,
Major Palm, said,
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00:03:05,485 --> 00:03:07,761
'Where the hell did
that guy come from?'
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00:03:07,820 --> 00:03:10,096
[speaking Russian ]
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00:03:10,156 --> 00:03:13,035
I signaled the
plane to follow me.
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00:03:15,295 --> 00:03:17,138
He wouldn't obey.
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00:03:17,197 --> 00:03:22,078
I radioed my base, and asked
what I should do.
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00:03:22,135 --> 00:03:25,981
An order came back
"Destroy it".
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00:03:29,008 --> 00:03:33,616
I opened fire and
the plane started to burn.
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00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:35,751
NARRATION:
As the MIG fighters returned to base,
49
00:03:35,815 --> 00:03:39,160
John McKone and Co-pilot Bruce
Olmstead parachuted to safety,
50
00:03:39,219 --> 00:03:44,567
and imprisonment in Moscow's
Lubianka prison.
51
00:03:44,624 --> 00:03:48,834
The four other Americans on
board had died in mid-air.
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00:03:54,267 --> 00:03:57,214
On the front line,
constant vigilance.
53
00:03:57,270 --> 00:04:00,547
War, if it came,
would soon 'go nuclear'.
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00:04:08,248 --> 00:04:10,387
American Titan missiles,
55
00:04:10,450 --> 00:04:13,260
each with a warhead
that could destroy Moscow,
56
00:04:13,319 --> 00:04:17,665
were ready
to be launched.
57
00:04:17,724 --> 00:04:19,169
It would be done
before we had time
58
00:04:19,225 --> 00:04:21,637
to stop and think about
what we were doing.
59
00:04:21,694 --> 00:04:26,404
It doesn't take all that long
and it was just automatic.
60
00:04:28,801 --> 00:04:32,146
There was no question
in our mind that
61
00:04:32,205 --> 00:04:34,708
this was the thing to do.
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00:04:38,878 --> 00:04:41,222
If we had ever received a launch
message over the PAS system,
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00:04:41,281 --> 00:04:43,591
I ha... would have had
absolutely no doubt that my life
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00:04:43,650 --> 00:04:46,790
expectancy was measured
in probably less
65
00:04:46,853 --> 00:04:49,766
than a half an hour,
and the only question was
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00:04:49,822 --> 00:04:51,267
would we able to
launch this missile
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00:04:51,324 --> 00:04:53,804
before the
incoming hit us.
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00:04:57,130 --> 00:04:59,406
NARRATION: Pearl Harbor was
still a painful wound in the
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00:04:59,465 --> 00:05:02,105
American psyche.
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00:05:02,168 --> 00:05:04,205
In Alaska, Greenland, and England,
71
00:05:04,270 --> 00:05:07,843
Ballistic Missile Early Warning
radars were in operation.
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00:05:12,045 --> 00:05:15,652
America did not want
to be surprised again.
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00:05:15,715 --> 00:05:16,693
TOM DENCHY:
The Cold War
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00:05:16,749 --> 00:05:19,059
was a war that went
on 24 hours a day,
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00:05:19,118 --> 00:05:21,792
7 days a week.
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00:05:21,854 --> 00:05:23,060
We felt that they were
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00:05:23,122 --> 00:05:26,331
trying to take over the...
the world and actually
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00:05:26,392 --> 00:05:29,430
we were one of their
largest stumbling blocks in
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00:05:29,495 --> 00:05:31,634
that effort and
therefore we were one
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00:05:31,698 --> 00:05:33,644
of their primary enemies,
and their primary
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00:05:33,700 --> 00:05:37,238
target was to take
over our country.
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00:05:37,303 --> 00:05:39,146
GEN. MIKHAIL MOKRINSKI:
[speaking Russian ]
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00:05:39,205 --> 00:05:41,207
They were banging
it into our heads
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00:05:41,274 --> 00:05:43,185
and we couldn't
have imagined otherwise:
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00:05:43,242 --> 00:05:44,846
the Americans
were aggressors
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00:05:44,911 --> 00:05:46,720
who wanted to conquer
the whole world,
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00:05:46,779 --> 00:05:48,622
and we had to
protect the world.
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00:05:51,484 --> 00:05:52,428
NARRATION:
In 1961,
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00:05:52,485 --> 00:05:54,863
the new American
President John Kennedy,
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00:05:54,921 --> 00:05:59,461
had taken office in
a tense nuclear world.
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00:05:59,525 --> 00:06:01,869
He inherited from Eisenhower,
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00:06:01,928 --> 00:06:03,601
the doctrine of
'massive retaliation'.
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00:06:05,865 --> 00:06:07,640
The term
"Massive Retaliation",
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00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:11,079
as it was understood
at the end of the 1950s,
95
00:06:11,137 --> 00:06:13,674
and the beginning
of the 1960s,
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00:06:13,740 --> 00:06:22,091
was a policy of responding to
major Soviet conventional attacks -
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00:06:22,148 --> 00:06:24,389
for example,
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00:06:24,450 --> 00:06:25,827
in Western Europe,
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00:06:25,885 --> 00:06:27,262
should that
have occurred,
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00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:31,325
with a massive
nuclear response.
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00:06:35,595 --> 00:06:36,835
NARRATION:
"Massive Retaliation"
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00:06:36,896 --> 00:06:41,038
had been conceived at a time
of clear American superiority.
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00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:44,343
Now, the Russians were
trying to catch up.
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00:06:52,044 --> 00:06:56,015
GEN VALENTIN LARIONOV:
[speaking Russian ]
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00:06:56,516 --> 00:07:00,191
There was a syndrome to catch up
and overtake,
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00:07:00,253 --> 00:07:01,561
to try and show
everyone that we
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00:07:01,621 --> 00:07:03,567
weren't far behind
the Americans,
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00:07:03,623 --> 00:07:05,625
that we too had
nuclear weapons.
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00:07:08,027 --> 00:07:09,802
There were those who said
that we can only prevent
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00:07:09,862 --> 00:07:11,705
a nuclear war if
we oppose world
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00:07:11,764 --> 00:07:15,678
imperialism with a force
of similar strength.
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00:07:22,408 --> 00:07:23,546
NARRATION:
Khrushchev sought a dramatic
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00:07:23,609 --> 00:07:26,988
means to remind the West
of the power of the Soviets.
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00:07:27,046 --> 00:07:30,323
He broke a moratorium
on nuclear testing.
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00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:38,994
October the 30th, 1961:
a Russian bomber crew were
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00:07:39,058 --> 00:07:43,234
preparing to drop the largest
bomb the world had ever seen.
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00:08:03,916 --> 00:08:05,896
The explosion was
the equivalent of more than
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00:08:05,952 --> 00:08:08,523
50 million tons of TNT,
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00:08:08,588 --> 00:08:12,365
more than all the explosives
used in World War ll.
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00:08:20,967 --> 00:08:24,710
50 miles away, people
were blown off their feet.
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00:08:27,340 --> 00:08:28,819
Khrushchev said he
wanted the bomb to
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00:08:28,875 --> 00:08:33,085
"hang like the sword of Damocles
over the imperialists heads".
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00:08:33,145 --> 00:08:35,887
Kennedy took up
the challenge.
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00:08:35,948 --> 00:08:38,326
In view of
the Soviet Action,
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00:08:38,384 --> 00:08:39,419
it will be the policy
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00:08:39,485 --> 00:08:42,796
of the United States to
proceed in developing
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00:08:42,855 --> 00:08:44,698
nuclear weapons,
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00:08:44,757 --> 00:08:47,863
to maintain
this superior capability
129
00:08:47,927 --> 00:08:51,898
for the defense of the free
world against any aggressor.
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00:08:54,934 --> 00:08:56,242
NARRATION:
To Kennedy's anger,
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00:08:56,302 --> 00:09:00,648
the super bomb was just one of a
series of Soviet nuclear tests.
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00:09:06,612 --> 00:09:09,957
GEN. MIKHAIL MOKRINSKI:
[speaking Russian ]
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I remember counting
down the seconds,
134
00:09:12,885 --> 00:09:14,296
then dropping the bomb.
135
00:09:18,624 --> 00:09:21,104
We had to put on special glasses,
136
00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:22,605
and pull down curtains
to protect us
137
00:09:22,662 --> 00:09:26,303
against the radiation.
138
00:09:26,365 --> 00:09:28,140
We'd put on the glasses,
but we'd forget
139
00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,012
to draw the curtains as we
wanted to have a peek.
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00:09:32,071 --> 00:09:35,484
Suddenly, there would be
something like a rising sun.
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00:09:35,541 --> 00:09:38,420
The clouds disperse and
you see a beautiful,
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00:09:38,477 --> 00:09:39,717
beautiful picture,
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00:09:39,779 --> 00:09:43,124
like in a fairytale- a mushroom
growing up and up.
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00:09:45,718 --> 00:09:49,666
It's on top of you and
you are going underneath.
145
00:09:49,722 --> 00:09:51,292
The instruments measuring
the level of radiation
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00:09:51,357 --> 00:09:53,667
went right
off the scale,
147
00:09:53,726 --> 00:09:57,697
but of course we
forgot about that.
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00:09:57,763 --> 00:09:59,071
Then suddenly
there is a huge
149
00:09:59,131 --> 00:10:02,237
blow as the shock
wave hits the plane,
150
00:10:02,301 --> 00:10:05,748
all the controls go crazy, and
you have to grab the joystick,
151
00:10:05,805 --> 00:10:10,254
and quickly, quickly try
and get it under control.
152
00:10:10,309 --> 00:10:14,780
The plane was
thrown from side to side.
153
00:10:14,847 --> 00:10:19,091
We knew what a nuclear
explosion was like.
154
00:10:19,151 --> 00:10:21,392
It became obvious
that the Russians just...
155
00:10:21,454 --> 00:10:22,558
there was no
containing them,
156
00:10:22,622 --> 00:10:25,432
they were shooting
hot just this big bomb,
157
00:10:25,491 --> 00:10:27,061
but lots and lots of them
158
00:10:27,126 --> 00:10:28,901
and we essentially
did the same thing.
159
00:10:28,961 --> 00:10:30,065
We went and, you know,
160
00:10:30,129 --> 00:10:31,437
we got bombs from
wherever we could
161
00:10:31,497 --> 00:10:33,340
find 'em and took 'em to
Nevada and shot them
162
00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:37,074
just in order to respond to
these Russian tests.
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00:10:37,136 --> 00:10:38,809
It was a
crazy period.
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00:10:47,913 --> 00:10:48,857
NARRATION:
In the West,
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00:10:48,914 --> 00:10:51,588
public opinion was turning
against the arms build up,
166
00:10:51,651 --> 00:10:53,460
and the testing
of the bomb.
167
00:10:55,788 --> 00:10:58,166
In Britain,
what started in 1958
168
00:10:58,224 --> 00:11:00,727
as a march to the
weapons centre at Aldermaston,
169
00:11:00,793 --> 00:11:04,502
swelled to an annual rally of
tens of thousands of campaigners
170
00:11:04,563 --> 00:11:07,066
for nuclear disarmament.
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00:11:09,201 --> 00:11:11,272
DORIS BOOTMAN:
We did seriously accept
172
00:11:11,337 --> 00:11:14,079
the fact that if a nuclear
173
00:11:14,140 --> 00:11:18,350
bomb was used
in the London area
174
00:11:18,411 --> 00:11:22,757
the effect was going to
be so massive over such a
175
00:11:22,815 --> 00:11:24,852
geographical area
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00:11:24,917 --> 00:11:30,367
that even people living miles out
would have repercussions.
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00:11:30,423 --> 00:11:32,596
And we were
quite serious in
178
00:11:32,658 --> 00:11:36,196
our expectations that
this could happen.
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00:11:37,496 --> 00:11:41,137
The scientists have made it,
it's there and available,
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00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:43,771
somebody's going
to want to use it.
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00:11:47,239 --> 00:11:50,015
NARRATION: Kennedy and his
secretary of defense, McNamara,
182
00:11:50,076 --> 00:11:52,352
were increasingly aware of the
danger of relying
183
00:11:52,411 --> 00:11:55,119
on the strategy of
"Massive Retaliation".
184
00:11:57,283 --> 00:11:58,626
ROBERT MCNAMARA:
Nuclear weapons
185
00:11:58,684 --> 00:12:01,893
have no military
utility whatsoever,
186
00:12:01,954 --> 00:12:05,925
excepting only to deter one's
opponent from their use.
187
00:12:05,991 --> 00:12:09,700
Which means you should never
never never initiate their
188
00:12:09,762 --> 00:12:12,242
use against a
nuclear-equipped opponent.
189
00:12:12,298 --> 00:12:14,505
If you do,
it's suicide.
190
00:12:14,567 --> 00:12:17,548
And that conclusion I
came to very early.
191
00:12:17,603 --> 00:12:19,844
As I say, when I came in I...
I didn't know the difference
192
00:12:19,905 --> 00:12:21,782
between a nuclear weapon
and a conventional weapon,
193
00:12:21,841 --> 00:12:23,752
but it didn't take
me long to find out.
194
00:12:23,809 --> 00:12:24,719
A few months,
195
00:12:24,777 --> 00:12:26,017
and I came to
that conclusion.
196
00:12:26,078 --> 00:12:28,922
The problem was, how to
implement the conclusion.
197
00:12:30,983 --> 00:12:33,190
NARRATION: McNamara presented
the Joint Chiefs of Staff
198
00:12:33,252 --> 00:12:34,595
with an
appealing alternative.
199
00:12:36,722 --> 00:12:41,068
Soviet cities were no
longer to be targeted.
200
00:12:41,127 --> 00:12:45,598
They were to strike only
at Soviet military forces.
201
00:12:45,664 --> 00:12:49,373
This was known as
No Cities/Counter-force.
202
00:12:51,437 --> 00:12:53,542
And if both sides
did that,
203
00:12:53,606 --> 00:12:55,882
then the casualties,
204
00:12:55,941 --> 00:13:04,122
in the unlikely and very undesirable
prospect of a nuclear war,
205
00:13:04,183 --> 00:13:05,821
would be less.
206
00:13:05,885 --> 00:13:08,331
[speaking Russian ]
207
00:13:09,555 --> 00:13:12,627
This idea of a
"No-Cities" plan,
208
00:13:12,691 --> 00:13:15,069
this striking only
against military bases,
209
00:13:15,127 --> 00:13:17,129
rocket forces
and submarines-
210
00:13:21,567 --> 00:13:26,312
it was simply an attempt to make
nuclear war morally acceptable.
211
00:13:34,547 --> 00:13:37,494
It was an attempt to
deceive oneself.
212
00:13:40,786 --> 00:13:43,062
NARRATION: The Russians
weren't the only skeptics.
213
00:13:43,122 --> 00:13:45,693
The head of the Strategic Air
Command General Power,
214
00:13:45,758 --> 00:13:50,503
was briefed on Counterforce by
one of McNamara's assistants.
215
00:13:50,563 --> 00:13:52,440
WILLIAM KAUFMANN:
General Power insisted
216
00:13:52,498 --> 00:13:54,978
that the only way
to deal with these
217
00:13:55,034 --> 00:13:59,005
barbarians was to blow
them all up and I said,
218
00:13:59,071 --> 00:14:01,142
'But who's going
to win that?'
219
00:14:01,207 --> 00:14:04,188
And he said, 'I would be
satisfied if there were
220
00:14:04,243 --> 00:14:06,849
just two Americans
left and one Russian -
221
00:14:06,912 --> 00:14:09,153
that would be
we would have won'.
222
00:14:09,215 --> 00:14:12,992
And I said, 'Well there'd better
be one of them a woman'.
223
00:14:15,721 --> 00:14:18,099
NARRATION:
October 1962.
224
00:14:18,157 --> 00:14:22,037
Khrushchev, seeking to reduce
American nuclear superiority,
225
00:14:22,094 --> 00:14:25,268
sent Soviet missiles
into Cuba.
226
00:14:26,265 --> 00:14:27,869
GEN RUSSELL DOUGHERTY:
It was real.
227
00:14:27,933 --> 00:14:30,072
You know,
this was no joke.
228
00:14:30,135 --> 00:14:34,481
They were moving mid-range
missiles into Cuba and
229
00:14:34,540 --> 00:14:35,518
and I don't think there's
230
00:14:35,574 --> 00:14:37,713
any doubt about the fact
they were moving.
231
00:14:37,776 --> 00:14:40,620
They may have had some
there already.
232
00:14:40,679 --> 00:14:42,022
They certainly had
the facilities
233
00:14:42,081 --> 00:14:44,561
to rapidly
introduce them.
234
00:14:44,617 --> 00:14:45,687
That was tense.
235
00:14:49,054 --> 00:14:50,590
NARRATION:
Kennedy ordered a blockade,
236
00:14:50,656 --> 00:14:53,899
and put his forces across the
globe on the highest alert.
237
00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:04,037
B-52s loaded with
hydrogen bombs,
238
00:15:04,103 --> 00:15:06,242
were ready for war.
239
00:15:10,576 --> 00:15:11,782
OVIDIO PUGANALE:
During the Cuban missile crisis,
240
00:15:11,844 --> 00:15:14,654
if the horn blew we
shook like the devil.
241
00:15:14,713 --> 00:15:17,717
I mean we were scared we
said we're on our way.
242
00:15:20,219 --> 00:15:23,223
So we simply ran
to that airplane
243
00:15:23,289 --> 00:15:26,395
and fired up the ground
carts to get
244
00:15:26,458 --> 00:15:28,404
get power to the airplane
and air to start
245
00:15:28,460 --> 00:15:33,136
the engines and we cranked those
engines as fast as we could
246
00:15:33,198 --> 00:15:36,304
and we would listen
for a message
247
00:15:36,368 --> 00:15:38,348
from Strategic Air Command
248
00:15:38,404 --> 00:15:41,715
to give us instructions on
what type of exercise it was,
249
00:15:41,774 --> 00:15:44,653
if it was a practice or
if it was the real thing.
250
00:15:44,710 --> 00:15:46,451
You know, you
literally swallowed
251
00:15:46,512 --> 00:15:49,152
because you didn't know
what it was going to be.
252
00:15:51,984 --> 00:15:54,191
NARRATION: Confronted by
Kennedy's nuclear superiority,
253
00:15:54,253 --> 00:15:57,666
Khrushchev turned
the missile ships back.
254
00:15:59,925 --> 00:16:01,666
[speaking Russian ]
255
00:16:01,727 --> 00:16:04,037
Both Khrushchev's government
and Kennedy's government
256
00:16:04,096 --> 00:16:05,973
proved to be wise
enough to find their way
257
00:16:06,031 --> 00:16:08,875
out of this situation.
258
00:16:08,934 --> 00:16:11,881
The Cuban missile crisis
was very important.
259
00:16:11,937 --> 00:16:13,678
It showed just how close
to the edge of the
260
00:16:13,739 --> 00:16:17,312
nuclear precipice the
world was standing.
261
00:16:20,079 --> 00:16:22,218
NARRATION: Moscow and
Washington realized that direct
262
00:16:22,281 --> 00:16:25,956
communication between the two
capitals must be improved.
263
00:16:31,023 --> 00:16:33,697
They installed the
"hot-line" between them.
264
00:16:36,428 --> 00:16:38,339
The following summer,
shocked at how close
265
00:16:38,397 --> 00:16:41,003
they'd come to nuclear war,
the Soviet Union,
266
00:16:41,066 --> 00:16:45,606
America and Britain agreed a
Limited Test Ban Treaty.
267
00:16:47,573 --> 00:16:52,044
There would be no more
'atmospheric' tests.
268
00:16:52,111 --> 00:16:55,923
Nuclear testing would continue,
but underground.
269
00:17:01,487 --> 00:17:03,899
In Russia, the Kremlin
had learnt a lesson.
270
00:17:03,956 --> 00:17:05,936
Never again did it want
to confront America
271
00:17:05,991 --> 00:17:08,597
from a position
of weakness.
272
00:17:08,660 --> 00:17:11,607
NIKOLAI DETINOV:
[speaking Russian ]
273
00:17:11,663 --> 00:17:14,143
Lack of nuclear armaments
274
00:17:14,199 --> 00:17:15,906
and the weakness of
the Soviet Union
275
00:17:15,968 --> 00:17:18,574
came as a shock to
the Soviet leadership.
276
00:17:22,441 --> 00:17:25,081
It was like a cold shower
for the Government,
277
00:17:25,144 --> 00:17:28,853
who realized that these
weaknesses had to be overcome.
278
00:17:37,456 --> 00:17:38,400
NARRATION:
The Soviet Union
279
00:17:38,457 --> 00:17:40,403
built
up their nuclear forces.
280
00:17:40,459 --> 00:17:43,531
They added hundreds of
missiles to their arsenal.
281
00:18:01,713 --> 00:18:04,216
The Americans had to accept
that, realistically,
282
00:18:04,283 --> 00:18:08,789
they could no longer destroy
all the Soviet forces.
283
00:18:10,989 --> 00:18:13,094
HAROLD BROWN: it became
clear that if you said that
284
00:18:13,158 --> 00:18:17,402
your main approach was going
to be to target the other
285
00:18:17,463 --> 00:18:22,003
side's military capability,
what would happen is that
286
00:18:22,067 --> 00:18:25,071
those targets would
proliferate to the point
287
00:18:25,137 --> 00:18:26,548
where there would be no
limit to the amount
288
00:18:26,605 --> 00:18:30,075
that you would spend on
strategic forces.
289
00:18:30,142 --> 00:18:32,748
The military on both sides
accepted that
290
00:18:32,811 --> 00:18:37,817
they could no longer protect
their own country
291
00:18:37,883 --> 00:18:39,829
from destruction.
292
00:18:41,687 --> 00:18:42,529
NARRATION:
The superpowers
293
00:18:42,588 --> 00:18:44,795
had discovered they had
one thing in common;
294
00:18:44,857 --> 00:18:48,669
an interest in
avoiding nuclear war.
295
00:18:48,727 --> 00:18:51,833
It is an ironic,
but accurate fact,
296
00:18:51,897 --> 00:18:54,002
that the two
strongest powers
297
00:18:54,066 --> 00:18:57,707
are the two in the most
danger of devastation.
298
00:18:57,769 --> 00:19:01,012
All we have built,
all we have worked for
299
00:19:01,073 --> 00:19:04,145
would be destroyed in the
first twenty-four hours,
300
00:19:04,209 --> 00:19:06,917
and even in the
Cold War which brings
301
00:19:06,979 --> 00:19:10,222
burdens and dangers
to so many countries,
302
00:19:10,282 --> 00:19:13,422
including this
nation's closest allies,
303
00:19:13,485 --> 00:19:16,125
our two countries
bear the heaviest burdens.
304
00:19:16,188 --> 00:19:21,228
For we are both devoting massive
sums of money to weapons
305
00:19:21,293 --> 00:19:23,102
that could be
better devoted
306
00:19:23,162 --> 00:19:26,575
to combat ignorance,
poverty, and disease.
307
00:19:31,770 --> 00:19:32,748
NARRATION:
A grim logic
308
00:19:32,804 --> 00:19:34,181
was beginning to emerge.
309
00:19:34,239 --> 00:19:36,651
Nuclear disarmament
was not achievable,
310
00:19:36,708 --> 00:19:39,279
yet nuclear war
was unthinkable.
311
00:19:43,015 --> 00:19:44,153
By 1964,
312
00:19:44,216 --> 00:19:46,856
McNamara had concluded
that his 'No Cities' plan
313
00:19:46,919 --> 00:19:48,694
was a
dangerous illusion.
314
00:19:48,754 --> 00:19:50,427
War would only be avoided,
315
00:19:50,489 --> 00:19:51,695
he now thought,
316
00:19:51,757 --> 00:19:54,260
by the threat
of mutual suicide.
317
00:19:57,229 --> 00:19:59,607
WILLIAM LEE: McNamara in
particular became totally
318
00:19:59,665 --> 00:20:02,703
convinced that the
only strategy was...
319
00:20:02,768 --> 00:20:05,271
what is known as
Mutually Assured Destruction,
320
00:20:05,337 --> 00:20:06,907
MAD for short.
321
00:20:06,972 --> 00:20:10,385
And what that meant
was that the only
322
00:20:10,442 --> 00:20:13,218
way to have stable
deterrents in the world was
323
00:20:13,278 --> 00:20:15,656
for both sides to be able
to kill twenty-five to
324
00:20:15,714 --> 00:20:18,058
fifty per cent of the
other's population.
325
00:20:18,116 --> 00:20:18,958
It's not mad!
326
00:20:19,017 --> 00:20:21,520
[ laughs ]
Mutual Assured Destruction
327
00:20:21,587 --> 00:20:24,397
is the foundation
of deterrence.
328
00:20:24,456 --> 00:20:29,997
Today it's a
derogative term,
329
00:20:30,062 --> 00:20:35,842
but it's those
who denigrate it,
330
00:20:35,901 --> 00:20:37,539
don't understand deterrence.
331
00:20:39,504 --> 00:20:43,646
If you want a
stable nuclear world-
332
00:20:43,709 --> 00:20:45,950
if that isn't
an oxymoron,
333
00:20:46,011 --> 00:20:48,787
to rephrase it,
334
00:20:48,847 --> 00:20:53,728
to the degree one can achieve
a stable nuclear world -
335
00:20:53,785 --> 00:20:57,961
it requires that each side
be confident that it can
336
00:20:58,023 --> 00:21:02,267
deter the other,
and that,
337
00:21:02,327 --> 00:21:07,208
that requires that
there be a balance
338
00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:11,339
and the balance is the
understanding that if either
339
00:21:11,403 --> 00:21:17,149
side initiates the use
of nuclear weapons,
340
00:21:17,209 --> 00:21:20,122
the other side will
respond with sufficient
341
00:21:20,178 --> 00:21:23,523
power to inflict
unacceptable damage.
342
00:21:26,585 --> 00:21:29,156
NARRATION: Submarines now
played a crucial role.
343
00:21:33,859 --> 00:21:36,965
[Archive Sound- Countdown ]
3, 2, 1, Fire!
344
00:21:40,399 --> 00:21:43,937
NARRATION: For MAD to succeed, each
side needed to be able to retaliate,
345
00:21:44,002 --> 00:21:47,313
even after it had suffered
a surprise attack.
346
00:21:47,372 --> 00:21:50,979
JOE WILLIAMS: The Polaris system to
begin with was really a city killer.
347
00:21:51,043 --> 00:21:52,044
It was an extremely
348
00:21:52,110 --> 00:21:55,250
survivable assured destruction
capability that the
349
00:21:55,314 --> 00:21:57,954
Soviets knew,
they could not destroy
350
00:21:58,016 --> 00:22:00,553
and knew that if they
conducted a first strike,
351
00:22:00,619 --> 00:22:04,692
that system would some
day be available to retaliate.
352
00:22:04,756 --> 00:22:05,860
It might take
some time to
353
00:22:05,924 --> 00:22:07,369
get the message
to them from a
354
00:22:07,426 --> 00:22:11,636
destroyed national headquarters,
but at some day the missile
355
00:22:11,697 --> 00:22:15,042
warheads would come raining in
and they would pay the price.
356
00:22:17,202 --> 00:22:18,647
I don't think that
there would have been
357
00:22:18,704 --> 00:22:22,083
hesitation on the part of any
commanding officer to launch.
358
00:22:22,140 --> 00:22:24,882
Did we think about what was
back home?
359
00:22:24,943 --> 00:22:29,153
Sure we did, but you didn't
let that control your actions.
360
00:22:29,214 --> 00:22:32,752
Time to think about that
after you'd done your duty.
361
00:22:32,818 --> 00:22:34,820
[speaking Russian ]
362
00:22:35,854 --> 00:22:37,765
The fact that
very tense people
363
00:22:37,823 --> 00:22:39,598
were close to
nuclear weapons,
364
00:22:39,658 --> 00:22:41,433
ready to use
those weapons,
365
00:22:41,493 --> 00:22:45,270
presented a huge danger
to the world.
366
00:22:47,566 --> 00:22:49,239
And of course,
we felt uncomfortable,
367
00:22:49,301 --> 00:22:51,577
but we still had to
accomplish our task,
368
00:22:51,636 --> 00:22:54,207
like the Americans had to
accomplish theirs,
369
00:22:54,272 --> 00:22:57,116
and we would have
accomplished it.
370
00:23:01,380 --> 00:23:03,690
What would it
have ended in?
371
00:23:03,749 --> 00:23:08,164
It would have had very sad
consequences for the world.
372
00:23:10,822 --> 00:23:11,926
I thought from the beginning
373
00:23:11,990 --> 00:23:15,904
it was morally bankrupt,
decrepit,
374
00:23:15,961 --> 00:23:17,668
morally dis...
I mean, I...
375
00:23:17,729 --> 00:23:21,370
I just do not accept war...
that the primary objective
376
00:23:21,433 --> 00:23:23,470
to war is to kill people.
377
00:23:23,535 --> 00:23:25,515
The primary objective of war is
to win the bloody thing with
378
00:23:25,570 --> 00:23:29,643
as... as few losses to er...
first of all to your own
379
00:23:29,708 --> 00:23:31,688
side and second
to the other side.
380
00:23:31,743 --> 00:23:33,780
Always you want to minimize
losses on both sides,
381
00:23:33,845 --> 00:23:35,882
but first of all yourself:
but you want to win the thing
382
00:23:35,947 --> 00:23:37,824
and get it over as
soon as possible.
383
00:23:40,318 --> 00:23:41,991
HAROLD BROWN:
If the first day
384
00:23:42,053 --> 00:23:44,556
had involved
attacks on cities
385
00:23:44,623 --> 00:23:46,000
then it would have been
386
00:23:46,057 --> 00:23:48,128
just unbelievably
catastrophic:
387
00:23:48,193 --> 00:23:53,142
tens of millions of deaths and
enormous destruction.
388
00:23:53,198 --> 00:23:57,772
Even one
thermonuclear weapon
389
00:23:57,836 --> 00:24:01,113
on a large city
390
00:24:01,173 --> 00:24:04,711
would be destructive
on an almost
391
00:24:04,776 --> 00:24:08,724
unimaginable and
unprecedented scale.
392
00:24:08,780 --> 00:24:12,125
World War ll killed
50 million people,
393
00:24:12,184 --> 00:24:13,754
but it didn't
do it in one day.
394
00:24:21,993 --> 00:24:25,304
NARRATION: In 1963, Peter
Watkins, a British film-maker,
395
00:24:25,363 --> 00:24:30,608
made a drama documentary to show
what a nuclear war would mean.
396
00:24:30,669 --> 00:24:32,239
ARCHIVE NARRATION:
9:16 am.
397
00:24:32,304 --> 00:24:34,181
A single megaton
nuclear missile
398
00:24:34,239 --> 00:24:36,480
overshoots
Manston Airfield in Kent,
399
00:24:36,541 --> 00:24:39,818
and air bursts
six miles from this position.
400
00:24:45,851 --> 00:24:48,559
At this distance
the heat wave is sufficient
401
00:24:48,620 --> 00:24:51,362
to cause melting of
the upturned eyeball,
402
00:24:51,423 --> 00:24:56,395
third degree burning of the
skin and ignition of furniture.
403
00:24:56,461 --> 00:24:59,772
12 seconds later the
shock front arrives.
404
00:25:15,947 --> 00:25:19,326
The blast wave from a
thermonuclear explosion has been
405
00:25:19,384 --> 00:25:24,356
likened to an enormous door
slamming in the depths of hell.
406
00:25:31,463 --> 00:25:33,670
NARRATION: The film was
called the 'War Game'.
407
00:25:33,732 --> 00:25:35,370
The BBC banned it.
408
00:25:44,676 --> 00:25:48,146
It wasn't seen on television
for twenty years.
409
00:25:59,491 --> 00:26:02,370
HAROLD BROWN: There was, for a
period of a couple of years -
410
00:26:02,427 --> 00:26:04,429
at least a year -
411
00:26:04,496 --> 00:26:07,602
a strong effort to persuade
the American public
412
00:26:07,666 --> 00:26:12,581
that it was worth investing in
and practicing civil defense.
413
00:26:12,637 --> 00:26:14,617
That campaign
fell flat;
414
00:26:14,673 --> 00:26:18,587
the public wasn't
very interested.
415
00:26:18,643 --> 00:26:21,954
I think the public
concluded that if
416
00:26:22,013 --> 00:26:25,085
a thermonuclear war
were to take place,
417
00:26:25,150 --> 00:26:29,895
civil defense, although it might
preserve some lives,
418
00:26:29,955 --> 00:26:33,300
would not preserve most lives,
and what came
419
00:26:33,358 --> 00:26:37,568
afterwards would have made
life not worth living.
420
00:26:37,629 --> 00:26:39,404
"Whether you're sitting in your
desk next to the window,
421
00:26:39,464 --> 00:26:40,966
or standing in the
elevator shaft,
422
00:26:41,032 --> 00:26:42,170
it wouldn't
be of any great
423
00:26:42,233 --> 00:26:44,645
significance if the bomb
were dropped in this
424
00:26:44,703 --> 00:26:46,842
area within a radius
of 25 miles."
425
00:26:46,905 --> 00:26:48,509
"I assume you're
supposed to go to a shelter,
426
00:26:48,573 --> 00:26:50,917
but in a city like
New York there's not
427
00:26:50,976 --> 00:26:52,922
much chance that a person
would survive if there
428
00:26:52,978 --> 00:26:55,117
was an attack
or something...
429
00:26:55,180 --> 00:26:56,284
"In the case
of a real attack,
430
00:26:56,348 --> 00:26:59,022
nobody would know what
to do I'm quite sure."
431
00:27:05,557 --> 00:27:06,661
NARRATION:
Officially the Russians
432
00:27:06,725 --> 00:27:08,762
took Civil defense
more seriously,
433
00:27:08,827 --> 00:27:11,034
but the reality was
not encouraging.
434
00:27:14,766 --> 00:27:17,645
MARIA STEPANOVA:
[speaking Russian ]
435
00:27:17,702 --> 00:27:22,481
When people began to realize how
dangerous these weapons were,
436
00:27:22,540 --> 00:27:24,042
they used to joke
that if a nuclear bomb
437
00:27:24,109 --> 00:27:26,487
was dropped nearby all
there'd be left to do
438
00:27:26,544 --> 00:27:28,455
was to cover yourself
with a white bed sheet
439
00:27:28,513 --> 00:27:30,515
and crawl to the cemetery.
440
00:27:32,784 --> 00:27:33,888
[ laughs ]
441
00:27:33,952 --> 00:27:37,661
If you could make it to
the cemetery that is.
442
00:27:37,722 --> 00:27:40,202
[speaking Russian ]
443
00:27:40,258 --> 00:27:42,329
The leaders were
guided by the idea that
444
00:27:42,394 --> 00:27:44,874
as there might not
be a nuclear war,
445
00:27:44,929 --> 00:27:47,409
why spend money which
we were so short of?
446
00:27:49,534 --> 00:27:50,638
On the other hand,
447
00:27:50,702 --> 00:27:53,615
if there was a war, civil
defense would not help.
448
00:27:56,107 --> 00:27:57,313
It was a very sensible,
449
00:27:57,375 --> 00:28:00,117
purely pragmatic
Russian attitude.
450
00:28:11,790 --> 00:28:13,565
NARRATION:
Even short of total war,
451
00:28:13,625 --> 00:28:16,071
deterrence carried
its own dangers.
452
00:28:19,931 --> 00:28:22,741
In 1966 over the
coast of Spain,
453
00:28:22,801 --> 00:28:26,339
a B-52 was due to attempt
a routine refueling,
454
00:28:26,404 --> 00:28:29,715
mid-air from a tanker.
455
00:28:34,112 --> 00:28:35,523
In the village of Palomares,
456
00:28:35,580 --> 00:28:39,756
Simo Orts was setting out
for the day's fishing.
457
00:28:39,818 --> 00:28:42,355
SIMO ORTS:
[speaking Spanish]
458
00:28:43,455 --> 00:28:46,595
I was fishing
opposite Villaricos,
459
00:28:46,658 --> 00:28:50,629
and the planes were
flying overhead.
460
00:28:50,695 --> 00:28:53,039
We always used to
watch the planes.
461
00:28:53,098 --> 00:28:58,047
There were two B-52s refueling,
and the ones at the back
462
00:28:58,103 --> 00:29:04,019
must have brushed against each
other and the planes exploded.
463
00:29:04,075 --> 00:29:05,281
[ Speaking Spanish ]
464
00:29:05,343 --> 00:29:07,118
I remember all this fire
in the air and pieces
465
00:29:07,178 --> 00:29:09,522
of airplane falling
to the ground.
466
00:29:11,483 --> 00:29:13,360
I remember all the neighbors
running to the place
467
00:29:13,418 --> 00:29:15,227
where the smoke came from.
468
00:29:15,286 --> 00:29:18,290
We thought that what had
fallen there was still burning.
469
00:29:22,327 --> 00:29:24,534
NARRATION:
As the planes broke up,
470
00:29:24,596 --> 00:29:27,907
4 hydrogen bombs were
scattered over the coast.
471
00:29:27,966 --> 00:29:30,970
Three hit the ground,
one was lost at sea.
472
00:29:33,004 --> 00:29:35,507
SIMO ORTS:
[speaking Spanish]
473
00:29:38,009 --> 00:29:39,716
I saw it very clearly:
474
00:29:39,778 --> 00:29:42,691
the bomb fell into the
sea very close to me.
475
00:29:42,747 --> 00:29:46,058
And then, I saw how much
interest the Americans showed...
476
00:29:46,117 --> 00:29:48,188
the whole
Sixth Fleet came.
477
00:29:48,253 --> 00:29:51,564
There were 5,000 soldiers
living on land in tents -
478
00:29:51,623 --> 00:29:54,536
generals, colonels,
so many important
479
00:29:54,592 --> 00:29:56,970
people from North America.
480
00:29:59,164 --> 00:30:03,340
NARRATION: The American fleet searched
the ocean for the missing bomb.
481
00:30:03,401 --> 00:30:06,473
Those on dry land had
different problems.
482
00:30:10,408 --> 00:30:11,716
When the bombs
hit the ground,
483
00:30:11,776 --> 00:30:15,223
safety devices prevented a
thermonuclear explosion.
484
00:30:16,047 --> 00:30:17,754
But the conventional high
explosives,
485
00:30:17,816 --> 00:30:20,057
used to trigger
a nuclear blast,
486
00:30:20,118 --> 00:30:24,897
had gone off,
scattering radioactive plutonium.
487
00:30:26,191 --> 00:30:27,534
ANTONIA FLORES:
[speaking Spanish]
488
00:30:27,592 --> 00:30:29,868
They started doing medical
489
00:30:29,928 --> 00:30:32,966
check-ups here in the
town with a Geiger counter.
490
00:30:33,031 --> 00:30:34,669
Some people had to
throw away their clothes
491
00:30:34,732 --> 00:30:37,975
because they
were contaminated.
492
00:30:38,036 --> 00:30:41,040
The houses were washed down
with detergent or water.
493
00:30:41,105 --> 00:30:45,781
At no stage did the Americans
tell us anything.
494
00:30:45,844 --> 00:30:47,050
People were scared,
495
00:30:47,111 --> 00:30:49,352
because no one knew
what was happening -
496
00:30:49,414 --> 00:30:51,189
all you knew was that you were
forbidden to eat things,
497
00:30:51,249 --> 00:30:52,990
that you couldn't
go out on the street,
498
00:30:53,051 --> 00:30:54,997
you couldn't
touch anything -
499
00:30:55,053 --> 00:30:58,000
everything but everything
was permanently prohibited.
500
00:31:01,492 --> 00:31:02,436
NARRATION:
Over four and a half
501
00:31:02,493 --> 00:31:05,269
thousand barrels of
contaminated soil were
502
00:31:05,330 --> 00:31:09,972
shipped back to
the United States for burial.
503
00:31:10,034 --> 00:31:10,944
At sea,
the search
504
00:31:11,002 --> 00:31:13,346
continued for
the missing bomb.
505
00:31:19,844 --> 00:31:23,257
NARRATION: The Spanish feared that
the Mediterranean was contaminated.
506
00:31:23,314 --> 00:31:25,453
American Ambassador,
Biddel Duke,
507
00:31:25,516 --> 00:31:28,588
went swimming
for the cameras.
508
00:31:30,622 --> 00:31:31,600
INTERVIEWER:
"Ambassador do you detect
509
00:31:31,656 --> 00:31:33,158
any radioactivity
in the water?"
510
00:31:33,224 --> 00:31:36,762
[ laughs ]
"if this is radioactivity, I love it."
511
00:31:39,564 --> 00:31:41,373
NARRATION:
Eighty days after the accident,
512
00:31:41,432 --> 00:31:43,036
an American
mini submarine,
513
00:31:43,101 --> 00:31:48,551
Alvin, found the
missing bomb, intact.
514
00:31:48,606 --> 00:31:52,213
The Pentagon called a lost
nuclear bomb a 'Broken Arrow'.
515
00:31:52,277 --> 00:31:56,657
Palomares was the
14th Broken Arrow since 1950.
516
00:31:56,714 --> 00:31:58,057
More were to come.
517
00:32:00,118 --> 00:32:04,294
The number of Soviet
Accidents' is still unknown.
518
00:32:07,859 --> 00:32:08,837
The Russian military
519
00:32:08,893 --> 00:32:12,466
were unconvinced by McNamara's
notion of 'Assured Destruction'.
520
00:32:12,530 --> 00:32:14,567
They saw it as
their first duty to
521
00:32:14,632 --> 00:32:17,340
protect their homeland.
522
00:32:17,402 --> 00:32:20,349
They worked to develop
anti ballistic missiles -
523
00:32:20,405 --> 00:32:25,252
ABMs, which could destroy
American missiles in flight.
524
00:32:29,981 --> 00:32:31,983
COL.GEN. YURI VOTINTSEV:
[speaking Russian ]
525
00:32:35,186 --> 00:32:40,033
First there used to be
sword and then a shield,
526
00:32:40,091 --> 00:32:44,301
then a tank and
anti-tank gun;
527
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:53,044
now it turned out that a
missile was not invulnerable.
528
00:32:53,104 --> 00:32:57,109
Science and technology
was developing so fast.
529
00:32:57,175 --> 00:32:58,279
It had become possible to
530
00:32:58,343 --> 00:33:02,951
fight the most dangerous,
the most invincible weapons.
531
00:33:06,818 --> 00:33:07,922
NARRATION:
To the United States,
532
00:33:07,986 --> 00:33:10,660
Russia's ABMs
came as a blow.
533
00:33:12,790 --> 00:33:14,770
It was a
terrible paradox.
534
00:33:14,826 --> 00:33:17,466
By building a 'defensive
system, Russia had
535
00:33:17,528 --> 00:33:21,203
put the delicate
nuclear balance at risk.
536
00:33:21,265 --> 00:33:24,337
NIKOLAI DETINOV:
[speaking Russian ]
537
00:33:24,402 --> 00:33:26,507
We thought of it
as an umbrella.
538
00:33:26,571 --> 00:33:28,312
Would an umbrella
harm anybody?
539
00:33:28,373 --> 00:33:31,115
If it rains,
you open it up.
540
00:33:31,175 --> 00:33:33,587
That was how we
saw the ABM system.
541
00:33:33,644 --> 00:33:35,419
It was an umbrella to
protect our population
542
00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:38,757
against a possible
missile strike.
543
00:33:38,816 --> 00:33:39,692
In terms of MAD,
544
00:33:39,751 --> 00:33:41,856
if you believe in
Mutual Assured Destruction,
545
00:33:41,919 --> 00:33:44,957
anything that
interferes with the...
546
00:33:45,023 --> 00:33:47,902
with...
with both sides, see,
547
00:33:47,959 --> 00:33:50,269
it's mutual,
Mutual Assured Destruction.
548
00:33:50,328 --> 00:33:53,104
It must be mutual,
and it must be assured.
549
00:33:53,164 --> 00:33:56,236
So anything on
either side that it
550
00:33:56,300 --> 00:33:58,473
would interfere
with both sides,
551
00:33:58,536 --> 00:33:59,981
either or both sides,
552
00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:02,985
capability to kill twenty
to fifty per cent
553
00:34:03,041 --> 00:34:05,180
of the population
of the other side is,
554
00:34:05,243 --> 00:34:08,122
by definition, destabilizing.
555
00:34:08,179 --> 00:34:10,022
[speaking Russian ]
556
00:34:11,082 --> 00:34:14,256
The introduction of ABMs
destabilized MAD,
557
00:34:14,318 --> 00:34:15,661
the balance of terror.
558
00:34:18,156 --> 00:34:20,830
We were both so afraid of
nuclear armaments.
559
00:34:23,494 --> 00:34:27,499
We knew that you wouldn't
strike and we wouldn't strike.
560
00:34:27,565 --> 00:34:30,478
But, now if one
side could counter
561
00:34:30,535 --> 00:34:32,947
the other's ability
to respond,
562
00:34:33,004 --> 00:34:35,678
then they
had the advantage.
563
00:34:38,676 --> 00:34:39,654
NARRATION:
America too,
564
00:34:39,710 --> 00:34:41,690
had been
developing an ABM System,
565
00:34:41,746 --> 00:34:45,159
but McNamara was reluctant
to authorize production.
566
00:34:48,252 --> 00:34:49,822
The system was
easy to beat,
567
00:34:49,887 --> 00:34:52,367
and the sums
just didn't add up.
568
00:34:54,392 --> 00:34:59,501
WILLIAM KAUFMANN: The ratio
of cost to the defender,
569
00:34:59,564 --> 00:35:04,809
as against the offense,
was very unfavorable,
570
00:35:04,869 --> 00:35:10,751
in that it would cost say, like,
five dollars to the defense
571
00:35:10,808 --> 00:35:15,314
to counter every dollar
that the offense spent.
572
00:35:15,379 --> 00:35:21,421
And therefore the...
the economics just strongly
573
00:35:21,486 --> 00:35:25,457
favored the offense.
574
00:35:25,523 --> 00:35:29,164
NARRATION: McNamara convinced
President Johnson to abandon ABMs.
575
00:35:30,761 --> 00:35:34,709
But only if the Soviets
agreed to do the same.
576
00:35:38,703 --> 00:35:41,616
In 1967, war in
the Middle East raised
577
00:35:41,672 --> 00:35:45,017
international tension
to boiling point.
578
00:35:45,076 --> 00:35:47,147
America supported Israel.
579
00:35:47,211 --> 00:35:53,184
The Soviet Union supported
Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
580
00:35:53,251 --> 00:35:54,423
ARCHIVE NARRATION:
"The Israelis have released
581
00:35:54,485 --> 00:35:57,261
these dramatic aerial pictures
to support their claim to have
582
00:35:57,321 --> 00:36:00,894
shot down six MIG fighters of
the Syrian Air Force."
583
00:36:03,928 --> 00:36:08,001
NARRATION: Israel swiftly
inflicted a crushing defeat.
584
00:36:08,065 --> 00:36:12,104
America, fearful that the Soviet
Union might come to Egypt's aid,
585
00:36:12,170 --> 00:36:15,447
prepared the Sixth
fleet for action.
586
00:36:15,506 --> 00:36:18,214
ROBERT MCNAMARA: The Six
Day War between Israel and
587
00:36:18,276 --> 00:36:19,277
and Egypt-
588
00:36:19,343 --> 00:36:22,916
And as a part of that,
the hotline was used
589
00:36:22,980 --> 00:36:25,153
for the first time
and one of the
590
00:36:25,216 --> 00:36:28,390
messages from Kosygin to
President Johnson was,
591
00:36:28,452 --> 00:36:30,796
'If you want war,
you'll get war'.
592
00:36:30,855 --> 00:36:34,701
These were very
very tense times.
593
00:36:34,759 --> 00:36:36,739
NARRATION:
To reduce the tension President Johnson
594
00:36:36,794 --> 00:36:39,206
Soviet Premier Kosygin
agreed to meet
595
00:36:39,263 --> 00:36:42,904
at Glassboro, New Jersey.
596
00:36:42,967 --> 00:36:44,844
In spite of the Middle East crisis,
597
00:36:44,902 --> 00:36:48,509
ABMs were high
on their agenda.
598
00:36:48,573 --> 00:36:50,814
[speaking Russian ]
599
00:36:52,276 --> 00:36:55,450
The President and the
Premier had a meeting,
600
00:36:55,513 --> 00:36:58,892
and the President
started speaking.
601
00:36:58,950 --> 00:37:01,260
He said,
"Let's come to an agreement,
602
00:37:01,319 --> 00:37:03,993
let's each not build such
expensive ABM systems."
603
00:37:07,391 --> 00:37:09,962
Kosygin said,
"I am against this...
604
00:37:10,027 --> 00:37:14,271
Why do you object to a system
that protects people?
605
00:37:14,332 --> 00:37:18,280
Defense is something moral,
and aggression is immoral.
606
00:37:19,237 --> 00:37:22,582
Missiles mean aggression.
607
00:37:24,642 --> 00:37:28,419
If you agreed to reduce the
number of aggressive missiles,
608
00:37:28,479 --> 00:37:33,929
then I could speak about
reducing our defense system...
609
00:37:36,053 --> 00:37:39,091
NARRATION: Whilst the arguments
over ABMs continued,
610
00:37:39,156 --> 00:37:42,330
American scientists were
preparing a countermeasure;
611
00:37:42,393 --> 00:37:44,066
Multiple Independently
Targeted Re-Entry Vehicles-
612
00:37:46,364 --> 00:37:47,809
MIRVs for short.
613
00:37:53,037 --> 00:37:56,780
One single missile could now
carry ten separate warheads,
614
00:37:56,841 --> 00:37:59,913
each capable of
destroying a city.
615
00:37:59,977 --> 00:38:02,218
HELMUT SONNENFELDT: Once
you got into the MIRV era,
616
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:04,624
the problem of strategic defense
became
617
00:38:04,682 --> 00:38:09,461
infinitely more complicated,
infinitely more expensive,
618
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:10,794
because you had
to devise ways of
619
00:38:10,855 --> 00:38:14,098
going after a multiplicity
of warheads
620
00:38:14,158 --> 00:38:17,935
and all kinds of junk
that would be put
621
00:38:17,995 --> 00:38:21,238
into the atmosphere
to mislead the defense.
622
00:38:26,671 --> 00:38:29,777
COL .GEN. YURI VOTINTSEV:
[speaking Russian ]
623
00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:32,912
One anti-ballistic
missile is enough to shoot
624
00:38:32,977 --> 00:38:34,650
down one
ballistic missile.
625
00:38:37,982 --> 00:38:40,462
But now imagine that
a ballistic missile
626
00:38:40,518 --> 00:38:41,861
has 10 separate warheads.
627
00:38:44,455 --> 00:38:47,061
In order to shoot down
one of those missiles,
628
00:38:47,124 --> 00:38:52,164
you would need at least 10
anti-ballistic missiles.
629
00:38:55,833 --> 00:38:59,838
Here are two figures
for you to compare.
630
00:38:59,904 --> 00:39:01,508
The United States
of America had,
631
00:39:01,572 --> 00:39:04,451
on their land based
launching sites alone,
632
00:39:04,508 --> 00:39:08,046
1,054 ballistic missiles.
633
00:39:11,649 --> 00:39:13,629
To counter that,
we would have needed
634
00:39:13,684 --> 00:39:17,222
over 10,000 anti-ballistic
missiles.
635
00:39:18,155 --> 00:39:20,135
That would be madness.
636
00:39:23,461 --> 00:39:25,998
[speaking Russian ]
637
00:39:26,063 --> 00:39:28,339
The Soviet Union realized
that unless we stopped
638
00:39:28,399 --> 00:39:31,312
the arms race,
then the Americans,
639
00:39:31,369 --> 00:39:33,349
who were financially
better off,
640
00:39:33,404 --> 00:39:35,850
could out-do
the Soviet Union.
641
00:39:38,709 --> 00:39:40,950
The leadership began to
understand that now we
642
00:39:41,011 --> 00:39:46,427
had to choose between building
socialism and communism,
643
00:39:47,818 --> 00:39:51,595
or making missiles.
644
00:40:00,131 --> 00:40:03,271
NARRATION: By 1969 the super
powers were, between them,
645
00:40:03,334 --> 00:40:06,679
spending more than
50 million dollars a day
646
00:40:06,737 --> 00:40:07,738
on nuclear armaments.
647
00:40:10,207 --> 00:40:15,987
It was a burden both sides
were finding intolerable.
648
00:40:22,787 --> 00:40:25,165
At last, they agreed
to meet in Helsinki
649
00:40:25,222 --> 00:40:27,566
to try to halt
the arms race.
650
00:40:27,625 --> 00:40:32,404
The negotiations came
to be known as SALT.
651
00:40:32,463 --> 00:40:33,965
HELMUT SONNENFELDT:
SALT stands for
652
00:40:34,031 --> 00:40:37,035
Strategic Arms
Limitations Talks.
653
00:40:37,101 --> 00:40:39,707
It was an...
an effort, er,
654
00:40:39,770 --> 00:40:42,250
in the light
of later events, a...
655
00:40:42,306 --> 00:40:45,947
a rather modest effort to try
and put some kind of a cap
656
00:40:46,010 --> 00:40:51,187
on the accumulation of
strategic delivery systems.
657
00:40:51,248 --> 00:40:55,526
NARRATION: The bargaining
was not going to be easy.
658
00:40:55,586 --> 00:40:56,428
[speaking Russian ]
659
00:40:58,989 --> 00:41:04,132
It was like diving into
a swamp with your eyes closed.
660
00:41:04,195 --> 00:41:05,196
There were a lot of doubts
661
00:41:05,262 --> 00:41:09,176
and difficulties in
organizing these things.
662
00:41:09,233 --> 00:41:12,146
Particularly because
before going to the talks,
663
00:41:12,203 --> 00:41:14,706
the members of the delegation
were called up by Brezhnev
664
00:41:14,772 --> 00:41:18,310
and very seriously warned
not to say too much.
665
00:41:21,111 --> 00:41:24,558
He reminded them that
the KGB was listening,
666
00:41:24,615 --> 00:41:29,291
and the Lubianka prison
was watching.
667
00:41:29,353 --> 00:41:32,926
HELMUT SONNENFELDT:
The Soviets were even more
668
00:41:32,990 --> 00:41:37,632
were far more hesitant about
doing anything that might
669
00:41:37,695 --> 00:41:41,666
involve some sort of
intrusion into their society,
670
00:41:41,732 --> 00:41:43,302
because
inevitably anything
671
00:41:43,367 --> 00:41:45,973
to do with real arms control
would involve inspection,
672
00:41:46,036 --> 00:41:48,380
verification and
so on and so forth.
673
00:41:48,439 --> 00:41:53,684
And this, for the Soviets,
remained anathema.
674
00:41:56,647 --> 00:42:00,857
NARRATION: Negotiations dragged
on throughout 1970 and 1971,
675
00:42:00,918 --> 00:42:02,693
as each side tried
to come to terms
676
00:42:02,753 --> 00:42:05,233
with the other's philosophy.
677
00:42:07,324 --> 00:42:08,394
HELMUT SONNENFELDT:
The Soviets
678
00:42:08,459 --> 00:42:09,938
really had
it in their
679
00:42:09,994 --> 00:42:12,998
gut, in the marrow of their
bone, this... this right,
680
00:42:13,063 --> 00:42:16,806
this inherent right of a
nation to defend itself and
681
00:42:16,867 --> 00:42:20,838
there wasn't really any
argument in those days,
682
00:42:20,905 --> 00:42:24,045
early days of a
technical nature,
683
00:42:24,108 --> 00:42:27,146
of a... of a strategic
analytical nature.
684
00:42:27,211 --> 00:42:30,420
It was just the God given-
they wouldn't have said God-
685
00:42:30,481 --> 00:42:32,825
right of a nation
to defend itself.
686
00:42:32,883 --> 00:42:35,796
[speaking Russian ]
687
00:42:36,720 --> 00:42:38,722
The Soviet Union
felt naked, unprotected,
688
00:42:41,158 --> 00:42:44,298
surrounded everywhere by
American nuclear forces.
689
00:42:48,933 --> 00:42:52,039
It was very difficult to
protect the Soviet Union.
690
00:42:56,774 --> 00:42:57,650
When we had
developed our
691
00:42:57,708 --> 00:43:01,155
own ballistic missiles,
although we had very few,
692
00:43:01,211 --> 00:43:04,522
we realized that it had
acted as a counterbalance.
693
00:43:04,582 --> 00:43:07,256
But when we
started the talks,
694
00:43:07,318 --> 00:43:10,993
we remembered all the kinds of
weapons that could reach us.
695
00:43:14,224 --> 00:43:15,999
NARRATION: Behind the
scenes, Henry Kissinger,
696
00:43:16,060 --> 00:43:18,233
Nixon's national
security advisor,
697
00:43:18,295 --> 00:43:19,831
arranged private
meetings with
698
00:43:19,897 --> 00:43:22,503
Soviet Ambassador
Anatoly Dobrynin.
699
00:43:24,602 --> 00:43:26,980
ANATOLY DOBRYNIN:
[speaking Russian ]
700
00:43:27,037 --> 00:43:29,847
These meetings
made it possible
701
00:43:29,907 --> 00:43:35,380
to introduce corrections, or
amendments without losing face.
702
00:43:39,049 --> 00:43:41,723
Using the back channel
with Kissinger,
703
00:43:41,785 --> 00:43:46,234
we could first state the
official point of view,
704
00:43:46,290 --> 00:43:48,429
and then talk more freely.
705
00:43:54,932 --> 00:43:58,277
I would say, "Henry, mind you,
or you should realize..."
706
00:44:04,041 --> 00:44:06,043
I was really just
thinking aloud,
707
00:44:08,112 --> 00:44:09,022
and then he would say,
708
00:44:09,079 --> 00:44:12,492
"Well, Anatoly, why should we
get stuck on this?
709
00:44:12,549 --> 00:44:15,462
Why don't we do it in a
different way?"
710
00:44:18,455 --> 00:44:20,196
NARRATION:
Face to face across the table,
711
00:44:20,257 --> 00:44:23,670
the two sides made
progress on ABMs.
712
00:44:23,727 --> 00:44:25,968
But they barely touched on
the most destabilizing of the
713
00:44:26,030 --> 00:44:32,470
new technologies-
multiple warheads- MIRVs.
714
00:44:32,536 --> 00:44:33,378
[speaking Russian ]
715
00:44:36,006 --> 00:44:38,418
The subject was not
really discussed
716
00:44:38,475 --> 00:44:41,046
because by then the Americans
already had this technology
717
00:44:41,111 --> 00:44:42,112
and Russia didn't.
718
00:44:45,416 --> 00:44:48,363
We believed that
we should have it too.
719
00:44:53,924 --> 00:44:56,302
NARRATION:
Finally, in May 1972,
720
00:44:56,360 --> 00:44:59,898
after almost three years
of negotiations,
721
00:44:59,963 --> 00:45:02,170
President Nixon arrived
in Moscow to sign the
722
00:45:02,232 --> 00:45:05,179
SALT agreements
with Premier Brezhnev.
723
00:45:06,570 --> 00:45:08,709
ABMs had now
been discredited
724
00:45:08,772 --> 00:45:12,914
and the two sides
agreed to limit them.
725
00:45:12,976 --> 00:45:15,047
But all they could agree
on 'offensive' weapons
726
00:45:15,112 --> 00:45:18,389
was a temporary
freeze on missile launchers.
727
00:45:22,219 --> 00:45:25,496
The superpowers were
learning to cooperate.
728
00:45:28,759 --> 00:45:30,932
Yet, their failure to
control MIRVs
729
00:45:30,994 --> 00:45:33,167
meant that, in the next decade,
Russia and
730
00:45:33,230 --> 00:45:38,043
America would add 12,000 nuclear
warheads to their arsenals.
731
00:45:43,607 --> 00:45:47,145
Preparations for global
annihilation continued.
732
00:45:50,941 --> 00:45:55,041
Subtitles ripped and converted by
Juan Claudio Epsteyn
733
00:45:56,001 --> 00:45:59,601
E-mail:
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