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| Fifth Column |
| How close did the Deep State get to using nuclear weapons in 1968 before LBJ found out about it and stopped it? |
| 2018-10-26 |
| [WarOnTheRocks] In an eerie twist on life imitating art, recent news coverage suggests just such a reality could have come to pass. The publication of Michael Beschloss’ new book, Presidents of War, shined light on declassified documents describing the efforts that President Lyndon Johnson’s senior military officers undertook without presidential authorization in early 1968 to prepare for the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam. How close did the United States actually get to deploying nuclear weapons in Vietnam in 1968? Who initiated this plan, codenamed "Fracture Jaw," and when did the president become aware of it? What can today’s leaders learn from this incident, and what implications does this episode have for command and control of nuclear weapons during wartime and the so-called "nuclear taboo" that purportedly dissuades their use? The story these documents tell is not altogether new. By the mid-2000s, Nina Tannenwald and documents declassified by the State Department had already revealed that Johnson shut down the military’s 1968 contingency planning for the employment of tactical nuclear weapons in the Vietnam war. The most recently declassified documents, however, convey just how far this planning had advanced at Pacific Command before press disclosures in Washington brought the full scope and scale of Fracture Jaw to the attention of a furious president and a beleaguered White House. In one sense, the story is reassuring. Johnson halted the deployment of these weapons at a moment in Vietnam when he would have faced considerable pressure from his theater commanders to use them. But it is also an alarming tale because tactical nuclear weapons planning got underway absent advance knowledge of ‐ let alone authorization from ‐ the commander-in-chief. As the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review calls for an expansion of America’s low-yield tactical nuclear options, policymakers and operational planners would benefit from understanding the importance of coordinating their contingency planning across civilian and military authorities to preserve the integrity of the command and control infrastructure and avoid the missteps of Fracture Jaw. Continues. |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy |
| #3 Not close enough. Every generation needs a reminder, else they breed deniers. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-10-26 15:42 |
| #2 According to my research, at least one SF team in Viet Nam was trained to employ tactical nuclear weapons. If I remember correctly, it was attached directly to CCN headquarters. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2018-10-26 13:44 |
| #1 There is planning for and there is planning to. Many times, the first is presumed to be the second. One thing the military is supposed to do is immense amounts of planning for, in case they're told by higher to do it. It would be interesting to know which side the planning reported is on. |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2018-10-26 11:41 |