Khrushchev signing the NTBT in 1963 and advocating peaceful coexistence with the West, many believe that these measures resulted in his coup by Soviet hardliners in 1964. 253 The U.S. State Department Policy Planning Council also cast doubts over the Soviet leaders’ acceptance of “the détente marked by the 1963 test ban.” 254 Throughout the 1960s the advancement in nuclear technological capabilities and strategies caused further reason for rising tensions. Thomas Schelling writes about the expansion of U.S. nuclear strategy during the 1960s, which had the potential to make nuclear warfare a more viable military option. “Massive retaliation as a strategic concept was dethroned in 1962 with the Cuban Missile Crisis but this evolved into a new strategy.” 255 These new strategies made up a ‘flexible response’ in the use of nuclear weapons. Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara wrote of implementing a ‘counterforce strategy’ in which in an attack, Soviet military and war efforts would be targeted in place of Soviet cities. “Live cities were to be appreciated as assets, as hostages, as means of influence over the enemy himself” bringing the enemy to terms. 256 McNamara’s departure from the traditional stalemate of Mutually Assured Destruction should not be underestimated. With this line of thought, nuclear warfare could prove strategically advantageous. In the Soviet Union technological progress had resulted in a build-up of long-range nuclear striking power of incontestable capability. 257 The Post Khrushchev leadership greenlight such high quantities of these long 253 Richard Allen Schwartz, The Cold War Reference Guide; A general History and annotated Chronology, with selected Bibliographies. (McFarland & Company, Inc: North Carolina) 1997, pp.277. 254 Foreign Relations of the United States (1964-1968) Vol 14: The Soviet Union. U.S. Government Printing Office, 2001, pp.384. 255 Thomas C. Schelling: Controlled Response and strategic Warfare. The Adelphi Papers, Vol 5. Issue 19. 1965. Pp.224. 256 Ibid, pp.225. 257 Robert Malcolmson, Beyond Nuclear Thinking, (McGill- Queen’s University Press: London) 1990, pp.40.
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