The Neutron Bomb and Nuclear Disarmament in Europe

Abstract

For a long time after their introduction to Europe a quarter-century ago, tactical nuclear weapons were a ‘taboo’ subject, too sensitive to be publicly discussed. In Western Europe few people questioned in public the proclaimed deterrent value and possible use of these dubious weapons until the summer of 1977, when an emotional debate on the neutron bomb exploded. In Eastern Europe the justification for tactical nuclear weapons on the part of the Warsaw Pact has never been publicly questioned; all criticism there has been directed at Western weaponry alone.