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Article ID: CBB001212679

Great Britain, the United States, and Consultation over Use of the Atomic Bomb, 1950--1954 (2011)

Jones, Matthew L. (Author)

Historical Journal
Volume: 54, no. 3
Issue: 3
Pages: 797-828
Publication date: 2011
Language: English

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Technology and politics International cooperation Atomic bomb 20th century United States Great Britain

The subject of when nuclear weapons might have to be employed by the United States during the early Cold War period was the setting for a prolonged and uneasy dialogue within the Anglo-American relationship. While British governments pressed for a formal agreement that there should be prior consultation before the atomic bomb was ever used, the Americans were determined to retain the freedom to take this crucial decision alone. This article explores the debates that ensued and the tensions that were created by this issue, between the meetings of Attlee and Truman in December 1950 and the Indochina crisis of 1954, and highlights the contrasting geopolitical positions of Britain and the United States as they sought to reconcile their views. For the British, playing host to a clutch of important US airbases, the risk of early nuclear devastation in any outbreak of general war was a paramount consideration. Although impatient with British caution, the Americans recognized an overriding need for allied support in general war giving British views the capacity to exercise a restraining influence.

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