Mutually Assured Destruction
MAD
- the testing of larger and larger weapons made this a major issue in the 1960's
- Partial test ban treaty resulted after Cuban Missile Crisis and a fear of MAD
- became major focus for Richard Nixon as a part of his detente policy
Summary: As the testing of nuclear weapons was continually growing, Mutually Assured Destruction became more of an issue. As a result we saw the introduction of the test ban policy and the Dente policy.
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"The Cold War philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), which prevented the former Soviet Union and the United States from using the nuclear weapons they had targeted at each other, would not apply to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iran. For him (Ahmadinejad), Mutual Assured Destruction is not a deterrent, it is an inducement." – Bernard Lewis
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Subjunctive Question: What would have happened if total nuclear war broke out?
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