|
OVERRATED & UNDERRATED
Enemy
BY T. A. HEPPENHEIMER
Most Overrated Enemy:
The Soviet Union. During the mid-1950s we spent much effort working to counter a “bomber gap” that stemmed from nothing more than the fact that the Russians flew the same ten planes twice during an air show, fooling Americans into believing the U.S.S.R. was amassing a huge fleet. Then came the “missile gap,” which also proved illusory. President Johnson later admitted that “we were building things we didn’t need to build. We were harboring fears we didn’t need to harbor.”
Most Underrated Enemy:
Canada. During both the War of Independence and the War of 1812, American forces tried to annex this land. They failed, as British arms pushed them back. Had they succeeded, our flag would fly today from the Yukon to the Rio Grande. By rebuffing the American attempts, Britain drew the map of this continent as it appears to this day.
—T. A. Heppenheimer is the author of Countdown: A History of Space Flight.
| 
