Flexible response military doctrine
At the beginning of the Cold War, if the Soviet Union had attacked Europe, the US would have retaliated with nuclear weapons. By the late 1960's, however, the Soviet Union had as many nuclear weapons as the US, which meant that the US could prudently respond more gradually which made many in Europe feel threatened.
Links
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB31/

