War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Joseph Alsop, 1986

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Series
War and Peace in the Nuclear Age
Raw Footage
Interview with Joseph Alsop, 1986
Contributing Organization
WGBH (Boston, Massachusetts)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/15-r785h7c55c
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Description
Episode Description
Joseph Alsop was an American syndicated political columnist. In his interview, he begins by describing the political situation in Europe and the Soviet Union after World War II, as well as the public mood in the U.S., from the Berlin airlift through the Korean War. Among other anecdotes, he tells of the time he and his brother, Stewart (also a columnist), discovered classified information that the Soviets were testing ICBMs, and describes how they handled the balance between protecting national security and the public's right to know during a tense political period. He gives his opinions on the crafting of American defense policy in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He describes at some length his views on the process of preparing national security estimates, used to assess Soviet capabilities, and occasionally intentions. In his opinion, basing estimates strictly on capabilities is like "playing Russian Roulette." He discounts the likelihood of another world war unless the Soviets pick a leader "who goes mad." In the same vein, he labels Stalin, Hitler and Mao as "obviously crazy." While he calls Eisenhower an able man and a shrewd politician, he criticizes his management of the national defense while president. On the topic of nuclear weapons, he comments: "The question is not whether to use them, the question is how to avoid a situation in which the question might arise. And the way to do that is to look strong."
Date
1986-03-12
Date
1986-03-12
Asset type
Raw Footage
Subjects
Czechoslovakia History Coup d'etat, 1948; Hungary -- History -- Revolution, 1956; U-2 (Reconnaissance aircraft); Czechoslovakia; Polaris (Missile); Edicia Sputnik; Rusk, Dean, 1909-1994; Murrow, Edward R.; Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994; Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969; Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963; Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971; Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982; Harriman, W. Averell (William Averell), 1891-1986; Dulles, Allen, 1893-1969; Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976; Bohlen, Charles E. (Charles Eustis), 1904-1974; Schuman, Robert, 1886-1963; McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957; Alsop, Stewart; Bissell, Richard M. (Richard Mervin), 1909-1994; Gates, Thomas S.; Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945; Wilson, Charles Erwin, 1890-1961; World War II; Soviet Union; United States; Berlin (Germany) -- History -- Blockade, 1948-1949; Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953; nuclear weapons; Berlin (Germany); International Relations; Korean War, 1950-1953; Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Rights
Rights Note:,Rights:,Rights Credit:WGBH Educational Foundation,Rights Type:All,Rights Coverage:,Rights Holder:WGBH Educational Foundation
Media type
Moving Image
Duration
00:00:00
Embed Code
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Credits
Publisher: WGBH Educational Foundation
Writer: Alsop, Joseph, 1910-1989
AAPB Contributor Holdings
WGBH
Identifier: 244b3161573ea096f8e17a3aa32bc76074c59632 (ArtesiaDAM UOI_ID)
Format: video/quicktime
Color: Color
Duration: 00:00:00
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Citations
Chicago: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Joseph Alsop, 1986,” 1986-03-12, WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed July 1, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-r785h7c55c.
MLA: “War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Joseph Alsop, 1986.” 1986-03-12. WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. July 1, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-r785h7c55c>.
APA: War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; Interview with Joseph Alsop, 1986. Boston, MA: WGBH, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-15-r785h7c55c