Intelligence sources have confirmed that Russia has built a self-activating doomsday device that cannot be destroyed. America and her allies live in constant fear of a preemptive strike from the USSR, and Russia is constantly beleaguered by the American B-52 bombers all situated 200 miles within striking distance of their targets (Dirks). Compute this all, and it equates to a world in peril. This is the reality portrayed in Doctor Strangelove. The two superpowers vying for ultimate power within the world will use any means necessary to achieve their ends, even if it means putting everything else at risk. The tensions are high, the people are worried, and the leaders are in constant fear; a false alarm, a technical malfunction, a disorderly chain of command—any of this could potentially trigger a nuclear war between the United States and Russia. Doctor Strangelove, a film created in 1964 strives to capture this essential moment in history. A demented US general orders a preemptive nuclear strike against the USSR, claiming that the orderly chain of command has broken and used the emergency code Plan R to initiate war. Plan R was devised to prevent a ‘Soviet sneak-attack’ whereby they assassinate the President and those at the central command center. In the end, America was able to recall all of the bombers, except one, which had a malfunctioning radio receiver. The movie ends with the commander of the B-52 riding an atomic bomb down towards Russian territory, and the doomsday machine would soon activate itself, according to the Russian ambassador. Doctor Strangelove illustrates many political implications that have future ramifications for the United States. It shows an America willing to work with former enemies to counter contemporary threats, a powerful military system potentially being counter-effective, and the possible ravages of a large nuclear arsenal.
America today is the sole superpower on earth. It has the ability to mobilize armed forces in more than three continents, the influence to enter its allies into its wars and the capability to blow the world up 15 times over (CIA). However, in order to maintain peace, it has to not only work with its allies, but also its enemies. The movie Doctor Strangelove, otherwise known as, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, clearly illustrates this. “The United States gave Doctor Strangelove, a former Nazi German, asylum because he was of potential benefit—this obviously shows America’s policy of readiness to work with former enemies to defeat current enemies [despite] its rhetoric of righteousness and punishing the wrongdoers” (McNamara). America understands that the ultimate goal of peace can only be achieved through cooperation, no matter whom they cooperate with. Even in contemporary American politics, the policy is always to use former enemies as potential allies. In this mindset, America has used terrorist networks that have formerly worked for Al Qaeda to track down the organization’s headquarters and its leader Osama Bin Laden (Bergen). Further, despite Russia and China’s concrete anti-American sentiments, the US was willing and is still willing to work them to denuclearize North Korea and stabilize the Korean peninsula. The United States will continue to deploy this policy as one of its main international relations strategies.
The American military is ranked #1 in terms of power and capability. This power and capability, however, can be devastating without a firm central command. “A vast military network is indeed powerful but also potentially counter-effective if it lacks a central command with a keen check on its subunits [as] these subunits can stray from the path of their superiors and cause potential wreckage” (McNamara). In the film, Jack Ripper, a demented US general, initiates a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and ultimately causes the end of the world. Doctor Strangelove introduces a possible ramification for having a military structure too broad with no firm central command that has a strong check on the emergency command centers. America today still faces that problem. The War in Iraq shows this. Because the military intelligence lacked proper command structure, it communicated incorrect information to the American High Command in Washington and thus caused the Iraq War (Ghaleb). They claimed that Saddam Hussein possessed ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ and sought out to defeat him for the sake and stability of the Mideast. Time, however, soon revealed the truth, and Iraq did not possess Weapons of Mass Destruction—some argue that Operation Desert Storm was a mistake. The new administration in control right now, however, learned from the Bush Administration’s mistake and is now looping a tighter control around the military command centers and the intelligence forces of the government. In the future, when the central command center will have to deal with a broader network of military and intelligence forces, such as the new Cyber Command, a strong check on these command centers will be essential for a well-functioning force.
The United States is not only powerful because of its vast network of military and intelligence command centers, but also because it has the largest nuclear arsenal. However, these weapons also pose security threats in addition to their protection. “The vastness and availability of nuclear weapons is a strength but also a weakness, as the availability increases, the vulnerability increases along with it, because prospective enemies may also use them” (McNamara). Doctor Strangelove clearly illustrates this possibly happening. Recently, a US military jet carrying a nuclear warhead accidentally flew off its course of direction and caused a stir at a military base in America—this could have wreaked havoc in the United States if receptor jets were to shoot down the plane. Another incident concerning nuclear weapons also took place recently—one that could make America vulnerable to its chief rival in the world, China. When America sold defense weapons to Taiwan in 2006, they accidentally shipped a state of the art nuclear fuse that is crucial to American secrets. If China attacked Taiwan by chance, they could have gotten hold of these technologies (Roberts). All of these incidents led the US to increase its participation in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty pact, whereby they decrease the number of nuclear weapons. Doctor Strangelove illustrated the possible ravages that a large nuclear arsenal can pose. At the end of the movie, a B-52 bomber whose radio receiver malfunctioned caused the end of the world.
Doctor Strangelove is a film that strives to capture the Cold War in its essence; a time where fear and insecurity were widespread and one little mistake could cause a huge impact on the world. It was preserved forever in the American collection of films that carried historical and cultural significance. The film addresses many political implications that have future values. It shows how a country, even with superpower status, is willing to cooperate with enemies for the greater good, a weakness in the vastness of military networks, and a downside in the possession of a large arsenal of upscale nuclear weapons.

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