:37:00
He was able to say
what we all knew. . .
:37:05
. . .about the madness of it.
:37:07
He had bought the book and was
trying to make it straight. . .
:37:11
. . .and realized that he couldn't,
that it was so utterly insane. . .
:37:15
. . .that it couldn't be done that way.
:37:18
And what he did was say that.
That this is insane, I mean. . .
:37:21
. . .who are we kidding?
:37:27
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here.
This is the war room!
:37:30
And it ever after made it
very difficult. . .
:37:34
. . .to take seriously
the Strategic Air Command.
:37:38
I mean, they seemed like they
were nuts from then on.
:37:42
I think they probably were.
:37:44
The most extraordinary part
of Dr. Strangelove for me. . .
:37:48
. . .was that 30 years on as part
of a BBC team, I investigated. . .
:37:52
. . .over a period of two years, many
of the central tenets in the film.
:37:56
What had happened in reality. . .
:37:58
. . .what had happened to Strategic
Air Command in the '50s and '60s.
:38:01
And the various elements of the film
like the idea that the military. . .
:38:06
. . .would use nuclear weapons
without consulting the president. . .
:38:11
I thought only I was in authority
to order the use of nuclear weapons.
:38:17
That's right, sir. You are the only
person authorized to do so. . .
:38:21
. . .and although I hate to judge
before all the facts are in. . .
:38:25
. . .it looks like General
Ripper exceeded his authority.
:38:28
. . .were all, you know, seen as
appalling when that film came out.
:38:33
Now we know many of those elements
were absolutely smack-on.
:38:37
Curtis LeMay did a test run to see if
you could provoke the Russians to war.
:38:42
We talked to an officer who worked
for LeMay's successor. . .
:38:45
. . .General Tommy Power, and they
said this guy was basically psychotic.
:38:49
This has not come out for 30 years,
but there it is. . .
:38:52
. . .right in the core of Strangelove.
:38:54
Tell me, Jack, when
did you first become. . . .
:38:58
Well, develop this theory?