Controlling a Nuclear Crisis

To the Editors of The Crimson:

I very much appreciate the Crimson's coverage (April 2, 1984) of Beyond the Hotline: Controlling a Nuclear Crisis, the report on crisis control that was recently done here at Harvard for the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

I would like to make several corrections for the record. First, it's important to realize that the report is part of a larger effort being carried on at the Kennedy School, the Avoiding Nuclear War Project, which focuses on the various paths to nuclear war and the strategies to avoid it.

Secondly, I told your reporter that the concept of crisis control could play a role as an "entering wedge" in improving U.S. Soviet relations and could draw support from hawks and doves. Soviets and Americans. I did not say that the report itself would either play such a role or draw support. There's an important distinction between the concept and the report, which is after all just one preliminary effort to flesh out the concept.

Thank you. William L. Ury   Research Fellow   Kennedy School of Government