Ending a nuclear war

Book · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5774420

Cimbala, S J; Douglass, J D

Western strategic concepts have had their own built-in images of nuclear war. These concepts concentrate largely upon the uncertainties of mass nuclear exchanges and the unbelievable devastation that would accompany such a conflict. By not considering in detail how a war of such magnitude and violence might unfold, let alone be ended, these nightmare strategists must resign themselves to either capitulation or cataclysm if their theories of deterrence should prove to be either inoperative or inappropriate in the acid test of reality. The world is at a crossroads in the development of its views of nuclear strategy. The rapid pace of technological development has profound implications for how both conventional and nuclear war might be either avoided or waged. The impact of technological development has been especially great in the area of strategic defense where, like never before, we have the opportunity to create an alternative to the exclusive reliance on the threat of retaliation. Ending a Nuclear War: Are the Superpowers Prepared provides contribution to the study of this vitally important component of deterrence.

• OSTI ID: 5774420
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350100* -- Arms Control-- Policy
Negotiations
& Legislation-- (1987-)
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ABSTRACTS
ARMS CONTROL
ASIA
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DOCUMENT TYPES
EUROPE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
LEADING ABSTRACT
MILITARY STRATEGY
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NORTH AMERICA
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
TREATIES
USA
USSR
WARFARE
WEAPONS