Tactical Nuclear Weapons and NATO.pdf - Program on Strategic ...

the Philippines; Singapore; Bangkok, Thail<strong>and</strong>; <strong>and</strong>
Saigon, Vietnam could not deal with the behemoth
United States as anything like equals, <strong>and</strong> the occupied
government in Tokyo had little leverage or desire
to pursue a more independent military course. 33
Largely impoverished, struggling for legitimacy, <strong>and</strong>
challenged by internal <strong>and</strong> external threats, primarily
Communist in nature, these governments were in no
position to gain insight into or influence over an issue
as sensitive as Washington’s nuclear weapons policy.
Moreover, there was little sense of cohesion among
the nations of East Asia, <strong>and</strong> in some cases outright
hostility prevailed, as between South Korea <strong>and</strong> Japan.
Individual allies were also situated in markedly
different geographies, sharply distinguishing their
perceptions of the nature of the threat. 34 These factors
prevented meaningful cooperation among U.S. allies
in the region, but even collectively they would have
been outweighed by the United States at the zenith
of its relative strength. Washington thus enjoyed tremendous
leverage over its Asian allies, <strong>and</strong> could easily
ward off attempts to influence matters as sensitive
as its nuclear weapons planning. 35
But the rationale for Washington’s policy of preserving
discretion did not lie simply in its ability to
conduct such a policy. Rather, unlike in Europe (with
the exception of Germany), Washington saw many of
these putative allies as not only weak <strong>and</strong> vulnerable,
but also as very possibly dangerous <strong>and</strong> thus requiring
restraint if they were to receive potentially emboldening
security guarantees. For much of the Cold War,
Washington feared that Seoul or Taipei might, for parochial
reasons of their own, provoke large conflicts
which the United States strenuously wanted to avoid;
Washington also feared Tokyo’s ambitions in the im-
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