An Analysis of 'Assured Destruction'

Abstract

The belief that the United States must retain an 'assured destruction' capability, to be able to destroy some fixed percentage of Soviet citizenry and industrial capacity, even after absorbing a Soviet nuclear first strike, is the cornerstone of American strategic policy, both at present and in the mid-to-late 1960's. Arguments for and against the desirability of basing U. S. strategic policy upon retention of an assured destruction capability are given. A large number of quotations are given from proponents and opponents.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 20, 1972
Accession Number
AD0750721

Entities

People

  • Donald G. Brennan
  • Edward S. Boylan
  • Herman Kahn

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Air Defense
  • Arms Control
  • Civil Defense
  • Defense Systems
  • Fusion Weapons
  • Military Operations
  • Military Strategy
  • Motivation
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Strategic Attack
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • Weapon Systems
  • Weapons

Readers

  • Economics
  • Strategic Security Studies