GAITHER COMMISSION SAYS SOVIETS AHEAD IN NUCLEAR WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 7, 1957, a special commission* headed by Rowan Gaither** submitted its final report stating that the Soviet Union is ahead of the United States in development of nuclear weapons.
The commission, which was formed after the Soviet's successful launch of Sputnik last month, recommends more fallout shelters*** be built in the United States.
*The Gaither Report, a.k.a. Deterrence & Survival in the Nuclear Age, was presented to the Security Council & President Dwight D. Eisenhower addressing the nation's preparations against the threat of nuclear attack from the U.S.S.R.
**Horace Roman Gaither (1905-1961) was born in Natchez, Mississippi & served as assistant director of the Radiation Laboratory at M.I.T. during WWII. HRG, a San Francisco attorney, was also chairman of the Ford Foundation & co-founder of RAND corporation.
***Fallout shelters, 1950s & 1960s, were enclosures designed to protect its occupants from the effects of radiation (fallout) resulting from a nuclear explosion. The shelters, large enough for families, was to be stocked with food & supplies needed for a long period of time.
JFK+50 NOTE
According to David L. Snead, the report was an "overreaction" to the launch of Sputnik by the Soviets, but influenced the Election of 1960 as the Kennedy campaign responded by offering "a stronger defense."
SOURCE
"The Gaither Commission, Eisenhower, and the Cold War," by David L. Snead, Review by Philip Zelikow, Foreign Affairs, 1999, www.foreignaffairs.com/
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