Dr. Strangelove Notes
Dr. Strangelove:
Air Force General, Jack D. Ripper, orders his troops to attack a Soviet base. President Muffley brings in the Russian ambassador to the War Room General Turgidson doesn’t trust Ambassador de Sadesky.
Thinks he is a spy. Russians have a doomsday device that will destroy the planet if they are attacked. General Turgidson wishes America had a doomsday device.
ProQuest Document:
On the Cuban Missile Crisis, “The situation would be even graver if there were any LeMay counterparts on the Soviet side. Each side might increase its alert levels to protect its forces, but the other side would see it as preparation for war and be increasingly tempted to launch a preemptive strike (page 5)” “The security dilemma exists because what Country A does to improve its security usually diminishes the security of Country B. As Country A buys weapons, the relative strength of Country B decreases. This security dilemma underlies the spiral model of arms races in which each country builds up its arms strength responding to the adversary’s buildup (Jervis qtd. in Lindley 5)” “In Dr. Strangelove, Turgidson advised striking first in the movie. In an ominous parallel, several military and civilian advisors to President Kennedy wanted to strike Cuba during the Missile Crisis, an action which could have easily escalated. Had the US engaged the Soviet Union in nuclear combat, we would have gotten more than our hair mussed (page 4)” “The American pupulace was paranoid and the U.S. military maintained a hair-trigger nuclear defense posture for a number of years. Senator Joseph McCarthy conducted witch-trialesque hearings to denounce supposedly un-American communist infiltrators in American government, in Hollywood, and elsewhere. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) pursued, denounced, and ruined the lives of suspected but often unproved traitors (page 6)” General Turgidson and Ripper are very similar to actual Air Force General LeMay
Air Force General, Jack D. Ripper, orders his troops to attack a Soviet base. President Muffley brings in the Russian ambassador to the War Room General Turgidson doesn’t trust Ambassador de Sadesky.
Thinks he is a spy. Russians have a doomsday device that will destroy the planet if they are attacked. General Turgidson wishes America had a doomsday device.
ProQuest Document:
On the Cuban Missile Crisis, “The situation would be even graver if there were any LeMay counterparts on the Soviet side. Each side might increase its alert levels to protect its forces, but the other side would see it as preparation for war and be increasingly tempted to launch a preemptive strike (page 5)” “The security dilemma exists because what Country A does to improve its security usually diminishes the security of Country B. As Country A buys weapons, the relative strength of Country B decreases. This security dilemma underlies the spiral model of arms races in which each country builds up its arms strength responding to the adversary’s buildup (Jervis qtd. in Lindley 5)” “In Dr. Strangelove, Turgidson advised striking first in the movie. In an ominous parallel, several military and civilian advisors to President Kennedy wanted to strike Cuba during the Missile Crisis, an action which could have easily escalated. Had the US engaged the Soviet Union in nuclear combat, we would have gotten more than our hair mussed (page 4)” “The American pupulace was paranoid and the U.S. military maintained a hair-trigger nuclear defense posture for a number of years. Senator Joseph McCarthy conducted witch-trialesque hearings to denounce supposedly un-American communist infiltrators in American government, in Hollywood, and elsewhere. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) pursued, denounced, and ruined the lives of suspected but often unproved traitors (page 6)” General Turgidson and Ripper are very similar to actual Air Force General LeMay