THROUGHOUT THE Cold War, the United States kept land-based missiles with nuclear warheads on alert and ready to launch in three to four minutes after the president gave the order. Every president of the missile age was briefed about the procedure: In the event of an impending attack, the decision to launch would have to be made in 13 minutes or less. The theory of deterrence was that the United States had to threaten certain and large-scale retaliation against the Soviet Union, and that meant being prepared to shoot fast.Read the rest here.
When new presidents were briefed about how it worked, they found it unthinkable. “And we call ourselves the human race,” John F. Kennedy is said to have commented. Not the least of their worries was the prospect of incomplete or faulty warning — a bad signal from a satellite, perhaps, or a missile launched by accident or by rogue actors. There was never a real missile attack during the superpower arms race, but there were serious false alarms.
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2 comments:
In one of the most far-sighted acts in human history, the Afrikaaner government in South Africa dismantled its small nuclear arsenal before ceding to democratic rule. The increasingly unstable Western democratic governments should do the same, and do whatever they must to eliminate these programs in other countries. Of course, it won't be done.
I agree with AG one-hundred percent. Aside from being a damnable instrument, the world is going to get increasingly unstable and these weapons will be even more frightening.
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