William Kaufmann
Encyclopedia
William Weed Kaufmann was an American
nuclear strategist and adviser to seven defense secretaries
, who advocated for a shift from the strategy of massive retaliation
against the Soviet Union
in the event of a nuclear strike.
Kaufmann was born in Manhattan on November 10, 1918 to Charles and Antoinette Kaufmann. His father died when Kaufmann was 10-years old. He attended The Choate School
in Wallingford, Connecticut
, where his classmates included John F. Kennedy
. He attended Yale University
, earning a bachelor's degree in international studies in 1939. Kaufmann served in the United States Army Air Forces
during World War II
. After the war, he returned to Yale and earned a master's degree in 1947 and a doctorate in 1948, both in international studies.
He was on the faculty at Yale and at Princeton University
. While at Princeton in the mid-1950s, he wrote Limited War, a paper that argued for expansion of Western Europe
an conventional armies instead of a reliance on nuclear weapons to forestall an invasion by the Soviet Union. In 1956, he was hired by the RAND
Corporation. He became a member of the political science
faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1961 and also took a position that same year with the United States Department of Defense
, splitting his time between both for several years.
The vision of counterforce
, developed by Kaufmann and others, was that the response to an invasion of Western Europe by the Soviet Union should be a measured sequence of responses, that would start with targeted attacks of military assets that could escalate to attacks on cities if hostilities were not suspended. The hope was that an all-out nuclear war could be avoided. The counterforce proposal stood in contrast to the massive retaliation
approach advocated by United States Air Force
General Curtis LeMay
at Strategic Air Command
in which the U.S. response to a Soviet invasion, even if they did not use nuclear weapons, would consist of nuclear attacks on all major military and civilian sites in the Soviet Union and its allies that could have resulted in hundreds of millions of deaths.
Kaufmann was hired by United States Secretary of Defense
Robert McNamara
after President John F. Kennedy took office, as one of McNamara's Whiz Kids
. McNamara included element's of Kaufmann's counterforce proposals into the nuclear strategy he was developing.
A 1986 article in Foreign Affairs
called Kaufmann "the man who may well be the most knowledgeable individual in this country on the defense budgets of the past quarter-century."
In a report written with John D. Steinbruner in 1991 for the Brookings Institution
, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
, Kaufman opined that the U.S. could meet its post-Cold War
defense obligations after cutting military spending by a third. The report noted that "the future ability of the United States to maintain the conditions of its security will depend as much on its moral authority, diplomatic skills and economic assets as on its military capabilities."
Kaufmann died at age 90 on December 14, 2008, in Woburn, Massachusetts
due to complications from Alzheimer's disease
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nuclear strategist and adviser to seven defense secretaries
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
, who advocated for a shift from the strategy of massive retaliation
Massive retaliation
Massive retaliation, also known as a massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack.-Strategy:...
against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in the event of a nuclear strike.
Kaufmann was born in Manhattan on November 10, 1918 to Charles and Antoinette Kaufmann. His father died when Kaufmann was 10-years old. He attended The Choate School
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
in Wallingford, Connecticut
Wallingford, Connecticut
Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 43,026 at the 2000 census.- History :Wallingford was established on October 10, 1667, when the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the "making of a village on the east river" to 38 planters and freemen...
, where his classmates included John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. He attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, earning a bachelor's degree in international studies in 1939. Kaufmann served in the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war, he returned to Yale and earned a master's degree in 1947 and a doctorate in 1948, both in international studies.
He was on the faculty at Yale and at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. While at Princeton in the mid-1950s, he wrote Limited War, a paper that argued for expansion of Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an conventional armies instead of a reliance on nuclear weapons to forestall an invasion by the Soviet Union. In 1956, he was hired by the RAND
RAND
RAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
Corporation. He became a member of the political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1961 and also took a position that same year with the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, splitting his time between both for several years.
The vision of counterforce
Counterforce
In nuclear strategy, a counterforce target is one that has a military value, such as a launch silo for intercontinental ballistic missiles, an airbase at which nuclear-armed bombers are stationed, a homeport for ballistic missile submarines, or a command and control installation...
, developed by Kaufmann and others, was that the response to an invasion of Western Europe by the Soviet Union should be a measured sequence of responses, that would start with targeted attacks of military assets that could escalate to attacks on cities if hostilities were not suspended. The hope was that an all-out nuclear war could be avoided. The counterforce proposal stood in contrast to the massive retaliation
Massive retaliation
Massive retaliation, also known as a massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack.-Strategy:...
approach advocated by United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
at Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
in which the U.S. response to a Soviet invasion, even if they did not use nuclear weapons, would consist of nuclear attacks on all major military and civilian sites in the Soviet Union and its allies that could have resulted in hundreds of millions of deaths.
Kaufmann was hired by United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
Robert McNamara
Robert McNamara
Robert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
after President John F. Kennedy took office, as one of McNamara's Whiz Kids
Whiz Kids (Department of Defense)
Whiz Kids was a name given to a group of experts from RAND Corporation with which Robert McNamara surrounded himself in order to turn around the management of the United States Department of Defense in the 1960s...
. McNamara included element's of Kaufmann's counterforce proposals into the nuclear strategy he was developing.
A 1986 article in Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
called Kaufmann "the man who may well be the most knowledgeable individual in this country on the defense budgets of the past quarter-century."
In a report written with John D. Steinbruner in 1991 for the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
, Kaufman opined that the U.S. could meet its post-Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
defense obligations after cutting military spending by a third. The report noted that "the future ability of the United States to maintain the conditions of its security will depend as much on its moral authority, diplomatic skills and economic assets as on its military capabilities."
Kaufmann died at age 90 on December 14, 2008, in Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. The population was 38,120 at the 2010 census. Woburn is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and just south of the intersection of I-93 and I-95.- History :...
due to complications from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.