The Missile Gap (PJW)

"The Missile Gap" is an excerpt from the historical fiction novel The Knights of Summer written by George R.R. Martin. Knights and its prequels and sequels are considered to be supremely historically accurate; while not representing the exact words that occurred in history, they are considered to be incredibly close to the truth.

Werner
Werner von Braun, from the languishing and underfunded Advanced Research Projects Agency, was called for a meeting with President Nixon in January, a few weeks after the president's inauguration. Nixon had campaigned on closing the technological gap with the Soviets - if only he knew how far behind the United States truly was. ARPA needed funding badly if it was going to bridge this gap, and Werner was the man chosen as ARPA's representative to meet with the president to discuss this.

An aide let the rocket scientist into the room. Nixon sat behind his mahogany desk, waiting expectantly for Werner. The same aide closed the door behind Werner, and the president motioned for Werner to take a seat. Werner sat on the other side of the desk and began to speak.

"Mr. President, thank you for taking the time to meet with me," Werner said.

Nixon looked deep in thought. "No time for groveling, Werner. I want you to give it to me straight - just how far behind the Soviets are we when it comes to technology?"

Werner was slightly taken aback by how blunt the question was, but then had a small laugh. "We are so far behind I shouldn't even be laughing. To name just one example - the Soviets are projected to land on the moon by the end of the decade. We haven't even sent a man to space yet."

Nixon waved his hand. "Men on the moon aren't that important when it comes to war. What's important is the rockets launching them."

"Do you know the history of my agency, Mr. Nixon?" Werner asked.

"How about you give me the abridged version."

"A decade ago, the major debate within the armed forces was about the usage of missiles. The Soviets were launching missiles around the planet, and while they may not have been that accurate, the truth was that while we had to launch bombers to drop atomic bombs, the Soviets could just send missiles across the oceans at us. That made many in the military sweat, but not Wayne. While his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles tried to convince him that an overwhelming massive retaliation of missiles was the best defense, Wayne only shook his head. 'Why send a missile to destroy a city when we can send in the finest infantry in the world to conquer it?'" At that, Werner could only shake his head.

"Very foolhardy, in my opinion. While we're stuck on the ground, the Soviets were improving on their missiles, and then they sent Sputnik into space. Despite Wayne's best attempts to downplay the launch, he was forced to compromise at that point; some of the funding from his precious army and gave it to a new agency, mine own, ARPA. But the funding wasn't enough to compete with the Soviets - just enough to shut up the voices that opposed him."

Nixon sighed. "So we know that the Soviets are well ahead of us. In the decade since it's founding, what has ARPA produced?"

At that, Werner could only repeat Nixon's sigh. "We designed a rocket series - Atlas - that has some limited success. The army, navy, and air force also had their own research, but with none of them working together, little has been produced. The Air Force's bomber fleet is the largest in the world though, far larger and far stronger than the Soviets. But bombers can only get you so far in war."

Nixon nodded. "That much is clear. So, to sum up, how does are arsenal compare to the Soviets?"

Werner gulped. "Well, right now we have 700 warheads. And the Soviets have 7,000."

Nixon could only stare, and took a moment before responding. "Werner, I feel we're going to have a need for missiles and advanced weaponry in the next few years. Conflicts in Vietnam, Africa...we're going to need it. I know you're high ranking in ARPA, but never the head of it due to your - your past associations." Images of burning corpses and muddy camps floated in Werner's head. "But for the good of our nation, I'm willing to look past that. How would like to join the cabinet as the official Secretary of Science and Technology, overseeing a much more expanded - and funded - agency?"

Werner couldn't hold back a smile. "Thank you, Mr. President."

Nixon spun his chair around to look onto the White House lawn. "Let's just hope America approves of this decision."