Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security
Whether to "Strangle the Baby in the Cradle": The United States and the Chinese Nuclear Program, 1960-64
Abstract
Nearly forty years ago, President John F. Kennedy and his advisers voiced growing concern over China’s nascent nuclear program and the threat it posed to U.S. national security. Since then, questions have lingered over precisely what steps the administration had considered to deal with this threat. Based on an exhaustive study of newly declassified documents, William Burr and Jeffrey Richelson of the National Security Archive report that the Kennedy administration embarked on a huge intelligence effort that included U-2 flights, satellite reconnaissance, and even talks with the Soviet Union on joint action. By the time of China's first nuclear test on October 16, 1964, however, Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, and his advisers had decided against direct confrontation with China, having concluded that not only was a nuclear China a threat the United States could live with, but that a confrontation with Beijing on the eve of a presidential election might prove politically unwise. In their conclusion, Burr and Richelson ponder the implications of their analysis for the current debate in the United States over China’s nuclear program.
For more information on this publication:
Please contact
International Security
For Academic Citation:
Burr, William, and Jeffrey T. Richelson. “Whether to "Strangle the Baby in the Cradle": The United States and the Chinese Nuclear Program, 1960-64.” Quarterly Journal: International Security, vol. 25. no. 3. (Winter 2000/01): 54-99 .
- Recommended
- In the Spotlight
- Most Viewed
Recommended
Magazine Article
- Arms Control Today
Negative Security Assurances After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Report
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Countering Terrorism With "Blue Sky" Thinking
Journal Article
- Quarterly Journal: International Security
Defending the United States: Revisiting National Missile Defense against North Korea
In the Spotlight
Most Viewed
Paper
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
The Great Diplomatic Rivalry: China vs the U.S.
Paper
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
The Great Economic Rivalry: China vs the U.S.
Paper
India's Foreign Policy
Abstract
Nearly forty years ago, President John F. Kennedy and his advisers voiced growing concern over China’s nascent nuclear program and the threat it posed to U.S. national security. Since then, questions have lingered over precisely what steps the administration had considered to deal with this threat. Based on an exhaustive study of newly declassified documents, William Burr and Jeffrey Richelson of the National Security Archive report that the Kennedy administration embarked on a huge intelligence effort that included U-2 flights, satellite reconnaissance, and even talks with the Soviet Union on joint action. By the time of China's first nuclear test on October 16, 1964, however, Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, and his advisers had decided against direct confrontation with China, having concluded that not only was a nuclear China a threat the United States could live with, but that a confrontation with Beijing on the eve of a presidential election might prove politically unwise. In their conclusion, Burr and Richelson ponder the implications of their analysis for the current debate in the United States over China’s nuclear program.
- Recommended
- In the Spotlight
- Most Viewed
Recommended
Magazine Article - Arms Control Today
Negative Security Assurances After Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Countering Terrorism With "Blue Sky" Thinking
Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security
Defending the United States: Revisiting National Missile Defense against North Korea
In the Spotlight
Most Viewed
Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
The Great Diplomatic Rivalry: China vs the U.S.
Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
The Great Economic Rivalry: China vs the U.S.
Paper
India's Foreign Policy