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said we could deter the Russians if we could kill 20 percent of them—then that would be enough, we could stop the arms race once we got that capability.”
But that soon changed. “In Salt II they said if we could get to where we could destroy each other 60 times over,” then that would be enough, that would constitute deterrence.
If McCarthy doesn’t accept the concept of deterrence, then what about Star Wars?
“Reagan says now we’ll develop something that will detect and destroy missiles, and if we get it, then we’ll give it to the Russians so that both sides share the technology for stopping nuclear weapons.
Theoretically that’s the best way to stop nuclear war.
McCarthy likened such a prospect to both sides reverting to their old cavalry—“You can’t get them across the ocean, so who cares, they’re not going anywhere.”
The most serious question of Star Wars, he said, was whether or not it could be effective.
The only thing Eugene McCarthy really misses about Congress is not being able to ask questions at some of the hearings. There are things he would like Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger to explain, namely his concept of strategic superiority. “What is it, how do you measure it, where did you get the idea- -and when did you begin to distinguish between conventional nuclear weapons and unconventional ones—when did that creep in?”
The Defense Secretary not at his disposal, McCarthy continued his questioning in the company of a mere journalist. “We used to have conventional war and nuclear war, now we have conventional nuclear weapons. How old does a nuclear weapon have to be before it becomes conventional, even though you haven’t used it?”
At that point the hearing adjourned and the Senators shuffled off to lunch.
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