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"Claims & Confusions." Today, while the political argument about a possible missile gap rages, the practical situation finds U.S. intelligence estimating that the Russians now have some 50 ICBMs ready to go, presumably zeroed in on U.S. targets. The U.S. boasts only ten large, liquid-fueled Atlases, no more than five ever operational at one time. These are backed up by 60 Thors in Britain, 30 Jupiters now being installed in Italy and 15 in Turkey. All are virtually unshielded and painfully vulnerable to attack. But two Polaris submarines with 16 missiles apiece are already on patrol. A third will soon be on station; three more will be finished next year. Nine subs and 144 missiles will be at sea by the end of 1963. The swiftly moving Minuteman program (TIME, Feb. 10) may put 150 missiles on the rails some time next year. Plans call for a total force of 500 Minutemen coming off production lines at the rate of 30 a month beginning in 1962. SAC planes (soon to be equipped with nuclear-tipped Skybolt missiles) based both in the U.S. and abroad, along with naval air power, round out a substantial deterrent.
Perhaps the greatest danger to the U.S. defense establishment is that it can bog down in partisan squabbling. In the midst of last week's flap, both sides would have done well to remember some earlier words of President Jack Kennedy: "To the extent possible, I want to avoid the conflicting claims and confusions over dates and numbers. These largely involve difference of degree. I say only that the evidence is strong enough to indicate that we cannot be certain of our security in the future, any more than we can be certain of disaster ... If we are to err in an age of uncertainty, I want us to err on the side of security."