Word: mcnamara
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...blame, then, is placed on the bureaucratic incompetence of McNamara rather than any deceitful motives of the Administration as a whole...
This comparatively charitable approach turns on the rather hopeless assumption that no one in the State Department was aware of McNamara's moves throughout the time leading up to his announcement. As early as November 19th, however, Aviation News and Space Technology reported that the Department of Defense was planning to cancel Skybolt. Agents of the State Department sit in the Pentagon for the express purpose of relaying news of projects in the Defense Department in order to study their effect on foreign policy. Besides, we must assume that McNamara is an extraordinarily naive man to formulate and execute such...
...Administration was not deliberately attempting to reduce Britain to a nuclear nonentity, but at the same time did acquiesce in McNamara's handling of the cancellation process, then why did it proceed with such bungling haste...
...plausible motive heretofore skirted is that of Kennedy's domestic political objectives. The Administration's private struggle with Congress and the Pentagon probably shaped its strategy as much, if not more, than any other factor. McNamara planned Skybolt's demise while still smarting from the attacks launched at him last spring when he had tried to stop development of the B-70, a Mach 2 superbomber. Primarily on the strength of the testimony of the Air Force's General Curtis Le May, Congress reprimanded McNamara's action and threatened to "direct" him to reverse himself. He eventually had to concede...
...this time, by timing his announcement to coincide with Congress' adjournment, McNamara prevented General Le May from using the Senate Armed Forces Committee and headed off any attempt by Messrs. Vinson, Symington and Goldwater to organize against him. By the time Congress reconvened the missile contractors would have ceased production and begun reconversion of their plants. The sooner the order was given the harder it would be for Congress to contravene...