How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence?
Link: http://www.fas.org/blogs/sciencewonk/2012/06/nuclear_deterrence/
I am a professor at Stanford University, best known for my invention of public key cryptography — the technology that protects your credit card. But, for almost 30 years, my primary interest has been how fallible human beings can survive possessing nuclear weapons, where even one mistake could be catastrophic.
I’ve created a series of short posts on “How Logical Is Nuclear Deterrence?”
Here are links to each post:
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence? Part 1
In a nuclear confrontation, we count on “them” being rational enough to be deterred by the consequences, but cannot be deterred ourselves or we “lose.”
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence? Part 2
A 1995 USSTRATCOM report recommends that we cultivate a national persona that is “irrational and vindictive if [our] vital interests are attacked.
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence? Part 3
President Nixon believed that, where deterrence was concerned, it was to his advantage to appear “unpredictable, even rash” because “the unpredictable president will win another hand.”
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence? Part 4
Following his own advice (see Part 3), President Nixon created a false nuclear alert to scare the Russians, in the belief that it would aid him in Vietnam. According to his chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, Nixon said, “I call it the Madman Theory, Bob.”
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence? Part 5
In addition to the risks inherent in President Nixon consciously making irrational nuclear threats (see Parts 3 and 4), he suffered from suicidal ideation in his final months in office, as Watergate brought his political life to an end.
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence? Part 6
Drug or alcohol abuse is another potential source of irrationality in nuclear deterrence. This problem has affected a number of top nuclear decision makers, including JFK, Richard Nixon, Boris Yeltsin, and Tony Blair.
How Logical is Nuclear Deterrence?
Part 7
Military officers are trained to fight wars, while the only rational use for
nuclear weapons would be to prevent war. Putting nuclear weapons under the
command of military officers therefore introduces the risk that logic which
applies to conventional weapons will be misapplied to nuclear weapons.