On the beach in Santa Monica, California, the Air Force contracts began
flowing at Rand Corporation in 1948, from which a cult of self-appointed
wizards issued forth over the years. All of them were "thinking the
unthinkable," trying to second-guess the Soviets. More often than not,
they melded esoteric mind games with their egos, as they jockeyed for the
attention of Pentagon generals. In the end, the author believes, nothing
was accomplished except that both sides now have tens of thousands of
warheads instead of dozens or hundreds, and missile technology has vastly
improved delivery. In retrospect, it seems that Rand should have spent more
effort on disarmament studies -- even if only as a sop to public relations.
ISBN 0-671-42444-0
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