What is mutually assured destruction?
With the development of nuclear weapons came pressing strategic, political, and moral questions about their use in warfare. The idea of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) has been a cornerstone of U.S. thinking on the nuclear arms race for many years. Although MAD got is name in the 1960s, the idea goes back to the earliest days of the atomic era. The idea is simply this: if one side were to attack the other with nuclear weapons, the other side would be able to launch a nuclear response that would devastate the original attacker. Knowing this, both sides are deterred from attacking. MAD is not really a nuclear strategy. It does not tell either country what weapons to build or how to use them, Rather, it is a condition in which countries recognize that they cannot launch a nuclear attack without fear of a devastating response. MAD has been criticized for its threat to civilians, because the best way to ensure that a nuclear response causes immense damage is to aim at people and industri
