Hoping that readers have found the documents posted on the home page helpful. I continue to add and refine those postings so hoping recommendations on additions and subtractions will be sent to me.
By the end of the week, the most comprehensive history of federal civil defense from WWII to 1980 will be posted on the FAS reference page reachable first by clicking on FEMA Reference Material and second on the link that turns up. This history was paid for by FEMA and oddly does not reference to my knowledge a single [now declassifed] Presidential directive or NSDD on civil defense. There are a few in that time frame.
To oversimply, after the JOHNSON administration civil defense was not a significant factor in either the real strategic balance or the artificialites of US-Soviet strategic posture. Despite that it is my belief that contributions were made to what has become EM and the civil defense programs were never operated in bad faith, although cogent arguments to that effect have been made.
Perhaps incorrectly I role the dual-use debate into all-hazards and CEM, Comprehensive Emergency Management, a product and label created by the NGA.
speaking of real world threats--reading an interesting book published in late 90's called "Blindman's Bluff" about US efforts to use its attack submarine fleet to gather intel during the Cold War. Not so Cold in this instance.
History may not be prologue but it surely is interesting.
