| In 1948 Curtis LeMay became commanding general of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), a branch of the Air Force. LeMay defined the mission of SAC in such a way to give it alone the role of launching a massive nuclear attack, anywhere on the globe, at a moment's notice. In 1952, with LeMay's innovations and directorship, SAC achieved this awesome and troubling capability. The documents examined were his extensive command papers, LeMay's own book, America Is in Danger, and two biographies, in addition to several articles about LeMay and nuclear war. Curtis LeMay did not un-bottle the nuclear genie; he made that genie able to perform simultaneous mass destruction of multiple cities and industrial centers. Others then followed his lead. |
