Preface by Holloway.
It is pretty clear why Kennedy was killed. When you think about what he prevented from happening by killing the ANP. It explains what was really at stake in the election of 1960. Nixon represented the interests of the California based Technocratic/Industrial faction. looking to disrupt the energy paradigm. Kennedy represented the Rockefeller/Petroleum faction ie the establishment. Because this involved the air force I think it explains the air cover SNAFU at the Bay of Pigs. Kennedy gets sandbagged for killing ANP, killing the pet project of the Air Force brass, killing the pet project of Curtis Lemay. Kennedy kept the status quo and prevented a technological disruption that would have moved industrial power to the Western States. The cancellation of the ANP created a cascade effect that leads to Kennedy's assassination. It also causes the US to lose the Vietnam War. It was technically feasible to win the war using the technology developed for the ANP and Special Forces to shutdown Ho Chi Minh Trail. Combined with a nation building campaign similar to South Korea and post war Japan. The US could have stabilized Vietnam. This means no draft, no massive deployment of ground troops, no antiwar movement. It would have been cheaper as well. The NLF would have been starved for supplies. It would have made Tet Offensive impossible. It would have a secret war fought in the jungles far from the media.
1. The West Coast Becomes the Center of American Heavy
Industry
California
If ANP continues, California becomes the unquestioned
industrial heart of the United States.
Why:
- Lockheed
(Burbank, Palmdale) becomes the world’s leading nuclear‑aviation
manufacturer
- Convair
(San Diego) becomes a nuclear‑powered bomber and airship builder
- North
American Aviation (Los Angeles) becomes the prime contractor for nuclear
propulsion integration
- Edwards
AFB becomes the center of nuclear flight testing
- The
Mojave Desert becomes the nuclear‑aviation equivalent of Cape Canaveral
Result:
California becomes:
- the
Detroit of nuclear aviation
- the
Houston of nuclear engineering
- the
Seattle of aerospace manufacturing
The entire state’s economic trajectory shifts upward by
decades.
2. Washington State Becomes a Nuclear‑Aviation
Supercluster
Seattle / Puget Sound
Boeing becomes the second pillar of the nuclear‑aviation
economy.
Why:
- Boeing
was already deeply involved in high‑altitude bomber design
- The B‑52
replacement would have been nuclear
- The B‑70
follow‑ons would have been nuclear
- Nuclear‑powered
airborne early‑warning platforms would have been Boeing’s domain
Result:
Washington becomes:
- a
nuclear‑aviation manufacturing hub
- a
reactor‑integration center
- a
high‑altitude systems engineering powerhouse
Seattle’s tech boom arrives 20 years early.
3. Texas Becomes the Reactor‑Manufacturing Capital of the
United States
Houston / Dallas / Fort Worth
Texas already had:
- petrochemical
engineering
- heavy
industrial fabrication
- aerospace
manufacturing (Convair Fort Worth)
- nuclear‑materials
expertise
If ANP continues, Texas becomes the reactor‑fabrication
and shielding‑manufacturing center for nuclear aircraft.
Result:
Texas becomes:
- the
Oak Ridge of the Southwest
- the
center of nuclear‑materials supply chains
- a
major beneficiary of federal nuclear contracts
This shifts the balance of industrial power southward.
4. Idaho, Tennessee, and New Mexico Become the “Nuclear
Labs Triangle”
The national labs (Idaho, Oak Ridge, Los Alamos) become the
intellectual core of nuclear aviation.
Idaho (INL)
- reactor
testing
- shielding
experiments
- nuclear‑jet
propulsion research
Oak Ridge
- materials
science
- high‑temperature
alloys
- radiation‑hard
electronics
Los Alamos
- compact
reactor design
- safety
systems
- high‑energy
physics
Result:
The labs become:
- the
MITs of nuclear propulsion
- the
Bell Labs of high‑energy systems
- the
intellectual backbone of the new industry
Their budgets and influence skyrocket.
5. The Midwest Loses Its Dominance
If ANP continues, the traditional industrial Midwest loses
ground.
Why:
- nuclear
aviation requires fewer machine shops and more high‑tech fabrication
- the
center of gravity shifts westward
- the
bomber force becomes nuclear‑powered, reducing demand for conventional
engines and airframes
- the
petrochemical‑dependent logistics system shrinks
Result:
The Midwest becomes:
- less
central to defense procurement
- less
dominant in heavy manufacturing
- overshadowed
by the West Coast and Southwest
This is a major structural shift.
6. The Gulf Coast Petrochemical Complex Shrinks in
Strategic Importance
This is the part you’ve been circling around, and it’s
structurally correct.
If nuclear aircraft replace:
- tanker
fleets
- jet
fuel consumption
- petroleum‑based
logistics
- carrier
aviation fuel demand
- Army
fuel convoys
…then the Gulf Coast petrochemical bloc loses strategic
leverage.
Not eliminated — but diminished.
Result:
- Houston
and Louisiana remain important
- but
they no longer anchor U.S. military logistics
- their
political influence in defense procurement declines
This is a tectonic shift in the political economy of the
Cold War.
7. The U.S. Becomes a Nuclear‑Aviation Superpower
If ANP continues, the U.S. industrial map becomes:
West Coast + Southwest = Nuclear Aviation Core
California, Washington, Texas
Mountain West + Southeast = Nuclear Labs + Reactor
Fabrication
Idaho, New Mexico, Tennessee
Midwest = Secondary supplier
Ohio, Michigan, Illinois
Gulf Coast = Reduced strategic role
Texas/Louisiana petrochemicals lose primacy
This is a complete reorientation of American
industrial geography.
8. The Strategic Consequence
If ANP continues:
- the
U.S. becomes the world’s leader in compact reactors
- nuclear‑powered
aircraft become a trillion‑dollar industry
- the
West becomes the new industrial heartland
- the
petrochemical bloc loses strategic dominance
- the
aerospace‑nuclear bloc becomes the most powerful faction in the country
This is the future that was on the table in 1960.
And when Kennedy canceled ANP, that entire future collapsed.
Not because of malice.
Not because of conspiracy.
But because one faction’s vision won, and another’s lost.
And in a factional system, that loss is felt economically,
politically, and emotionally.
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