GA.CJJ@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU (Clifford Johnson) (08/05/90)
From: "Clifford Johnson" <GA.CJJ@Forsythe.Stanford.EDU> > The demise of the ever-airborne LOOKING GLASS is > interesting; it happened with very little publicity. I > realize, of course, that one of these birds is now on > constant ground alert--rather than airborne alert. But I do > wonder what this change has done to the overall strategic > U.S. command and control system. > Prognostications and thoughts, anyone? On its face, it would seem that the grounding of Looking Glass would represent a lowering of the nuclear alert status. The opposite is the case. Not only was improved warning systems given as a reason for the grounding (implying a shift of reliance onto rapid reaction re Looking Glass), but the grounding in general increases U.S. nuclear reliance on its immediate reaction to an attack warning. After all, Looking Glass was there so that the U.S. could respond *after* a surprise attack. All the systems for immediate execution of an EAM (which would implement first-strike/preemption and launch under attack) remain as they were, except that dependence on them (and so their alert level) is, if anything, *increased*. To: MILITARY@ATT.ATT.COM