rQUALIFIED 'YES"

I AST week TIME asked Air Force L Chief Nathan Twining this question: Does the U.S. Air Force feel confident that it is strong enough to win if Russia starts a war?

Twining's answer: "Yes. But I must qualify this. The greater our margin of superiority, the more quickly we could win the air battle. If we could knock out the enemy's capability to hit the U.S., let us say the instant his bombers taxi out to hit us, the U.S. would lose no cities. If it took us a day, the U.S. might have X numbers of bombs dropped on it. If it took us a week, the U.S. might have 2X bombs dropped on it. And if it took us a month, the U.S. might have 3X bombs dropped on it. In this case we might defeat the enemy, but it would be a tragically hollow victory."

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