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Ten Percent, by Robert Gore

Posted by straightlinelogic 7 years, 4 months ago to Technology
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The US withdrew from the ABM Treaty in 2002. This was reportedly the impetus for Russia’s decision to develop the weapons that have, according to Putin, rendered US missile defense systems “useless.” George Bush and Dick Cheney thought American military and economic “superiority” would bury Russia. They were disastrously wrong. It’s too bad there are no pictures equivalent to Bush landing on the aircraft carrier with the Mission Accomplished banner to commemorate this folly, which far surpasses his Iraq misadventures.

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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 7 years, 4 months ago
    My possibly-wrong understanding: I thought it was nearly impossible to stop ICBM-carried weapons using existing technology and that fact made MAD possible. Russia or US have no incentive to relinquish their weapons because deterrent is their only "defense". Similarly, they have no incentive to produce more powerful weapons since the weapons are so devastating a single one can destroy and entire city.

    If my possibly-naive view is right, why does it matter if Russia has new nuclear weapons? They already have a very solid deterrent. I thought even if US initiated a first-strike without warning and were expecting a retaliatory strike, Russia could still kill millions of people, destroy infrastructure and assets on a massive scale, and have much of the US population scrambling for basic necessities.

    Does your post suggest I'm wrong about this? Do you think Russia thinks (possibly correctly) that US military technology has gotten to the point where some in the US might think a nuclear war is winnable?
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