Thursday, October 21, 2004
FATHER OF NSC-68 AND INF TREATY DEAD AT 97
I was sad to read at The Chicago Boyz of the passing of Paul Nitze, author of NSC-68, who with George Kennan was one of the primary architects of America's Cold War victory over Soviet Communism. Here is the eloquent commentary from Sulaiman of The Chicago Boyz on Mr. Nitze.
"They don't make Democrats like they used to
Paul Nitze, a life long Democrat who also served under Ronald Reagan, died on Wednesday. Having spent his childhood around the UofC where his father taught, he made it big both in Washington and on Wall Street. I suspect the readers of this page may not agree with some of the positions he took in over 50 years of political life in national security affairs, but in his National Security Council memorandum 68 (NSC 68), a classified report to President Harry Truman in the aftermath of first nuclear explosion by the Soviets, he framed US relations with the Soviet Union as a struggle between freedom and slavery. It was this kind of moral clarity, not nuance and international sophistication, that won the Cold War. Also it was the policies set forth in the aftermath of WWII by people like Nitze that have created the longest peace among major Western powers since the time of Romans. And it was the American security net championed by distinguished individuals like Nitze that allowed Western Europeans to take their minds off national jealousies and concentrate on economic integration. The world had never seen the spread of prosperity in such a short period of time.
As Sulaiman noted, after making an enormous contribution to the defense of Western civilization, Mr. Nitze chose, in his old age, to return to an active hand in guiding delicate and high-stakes arms control negotiations with the USSR during the Reagan administration where his crowning achievement was the signing of the INF treaty that abolished an entire class of nuclear weapons in Europe. To put Mr. Nitze's career in perspective, here are the highlights of a man who dedicated his life to public service.
Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey 1944-46
Head of Policy Planning for the State Department 1950 -1953
Secretary of the Navy 1963-1967
Deputy Secretary of Defense 1967 -1969
U.S. Delegation, SALT I. Talks 1969-1973
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs 1973- 1976
Chief Negotiator, INF Talks 1981-1984
Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State, on Arms Control 1984 - 1988.
R.I.P. Paul Nitze...and thank you.
¶ 10:13 AM
I was sad to read at The Chicago Boyz of the passing of Paul Nitze, author of NSC-68, who with George Kennan was one of the primary architects of America's Cold War victory over Soviet Communism. Here is the eloquent commentary from Sulaiman of The Chicago Boyz on Mr. Nitze.
"They don't make Democrats like they used to
Paul Nitze, a life long Democrat who also served under Ronald Reagan, died on Wednesday. Having spent his childhood around the UofC where his father taught, he made it big both in Washington and on Wall Street. I suspect the readers of this page may not agree with some of the positions he took in over 50 years of political life in national security affairs, but in his National Security Council memorandum 68 (NSC 68), a classified report to President Harry Truman in the aftermath of first nuclear explosion by the Soviets, he framed US relations with the Soviet Union as a struggle between freedom and slavery. It was this kind of moral clarity, not nuance and international sophistication, that won the Cold War. Also it was the policies set forth in the aftermath of WWII by people like Nitze that have created the longest peace among major Western powers since the time of Romans. And it was the American security net championed by distinguished individuals like Nitze that allowed Western Europeans to take their minds off national jealousies and concentrate on economic integration. The world had never seen the spread of prosperity in such a short period of time.
As Sulaiman noted, after making an enormous contribution to the defense of Western civilization, Mr. Nitze chose, in his old age, to return to an active hand in guiding delicate and high-stakes arms control negotiations with the USSR during the Reagan administration where his crowning achievement was the signing of the INF treaty that abolished an entire class of nuclear weapons in Europe. To put Mr. Nitze's career in perspective, here are the highlights of a man who dedicated his life to public service.
Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey 1944-46
Head of Policy Planning for the State Department 1950 -1953
Secretary of the Navy 1963-1967
Deputy Secretary of Defense 1967 -1969
U.S. Delegation, SALT I. Talks 1969-1973
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs 1973- 1976
Chief Negotiator, INF Talks 1981-1984
Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State, on Arms Control 1984 - 1988.
R.I.P. Paul Nitze...and thank you.
¶ 10:13 AM
