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The flare-up over the U.S. guided missile program provides the most authoritative clue yet to prevailing strategic concepts in the National Security Council. The foes of Mr. Trevor Gardner (proponent of a “crash” missile program and, consequently, ex-Assistant Air Force Secretary for Research and Development) have clearly won the day; but Mr. Gardner, in departing, kicked up just enough of a rumpus to give the American people an alarming glimpse of some of the assumptions their government makes, as it squares off to the major problem of our time.

The day before Mr. Gardner’s resignation, this correspondent and a State Department official passed a social hour trading guesses about the National Security Council’s current estimate of Soviet intentions in the event the Kremlin should see no way to achieve its objectives short of war. The realistic possibilities, we agreed, were three:

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L. Brent Bozell Jr.

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The flare-up over the U.S. guided missile program provides the most authoritative clue yet to prevailing strategic concepts in the National Security Council. The foes of Mr. Trevor Gardner (proponent of a “crash” missile program and, consequently, ex-Assistant Air Force Secretary for Research and Development) have clearly won the day; but Mr. Gardner, in departing, kicked up just enough of a rumpus to give the American people an alarming glimpse of some of the assumptions their government makes, as it squares off to the major problem of our time.

The day before Mr. Gardner’s resignation, this correspondent and a State Department official passed a social hour trading guesses about the National Security Council’s current estimate of Soviet intentions in the event the Kremlin should see no way to achieve its objectives short of war. The realistic possibilities, we agreed, were three: