Trio Addresses Weapons Strategy

Two years after the publication of the Harvard Nuclear Study Group's influential book, "Living With Nuclear Weapons," two of its members are back--along with Kennedy School of Government Dean Graham T. Allison Jr. '62--to promote their newest strategies for avoiding nuclear war.

Hoping to "generate some political momentum" for the proposals outlined in their new book, "Hawks, Doves, and Owls," Allison, Dillon Professor of International Affairs Joseph S. Nye, and K-School academic dean Albert Carnesale the three explained their "new agenda" to a packed K-School audience yesterday. Next week they will present their plan to a formal hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.

The book's title refers to the two extremist factions in the nuclear debate and the compromise the K-School group proposes.

"Hawks" believe war starts because a nation is too weak, and "doves" believe it results from provocation. The "owl" agenda, however, tries to find "common ground" by considering "less the weapons themselves...than the use of the weapons and actions that can be taken to affect the probability of their use," Allison said.

He said "owls" believe nuclear war will most likely result from a "loss of control" by decision-makers.

Therefore, Nye says, the group has avoided the most common approach of "simply cutting off technology or playing with numbers" of weapons, propounding instead an agenda of "do's and don't's" to tighten governmental control of nuclear arsenals.

Among its policy recommendations, the group cites "10 commandments", including electronic safety locks on all submarine based missiles and the development of nuclear-strike durable communications.

The three policy experts have travelled as far away as the Soviet Union to promote their views. In meeting with Soviet nuclear arm experts, the Harvard group said I way able to avoid the often polarize arguments to propose a "middle political ground" for future policy Nye said.

Moreover, the three draw attention to several domestic recommendation for avoiding nuclear confrontation including better training of high-level government officials in nuclear policy, which they claim can be readily done unilaterally.