Are Tactical Nuclear Weapons a Credible Deterrent to General Conventional War

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to determine if our tactical nuclear weapons can be considered as a credible deterrent to general conventional war. Two basic tests for deterrence are used: would the use of tactical nuclear weapons to oppose a general conventional attack create conditions unacceptable to the enemy, and do the US and other NATO nations have the will to use tactical nuclear weapons. The destructive potential, timing and use of nuclear weapons are examined.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 21, 1973
Accession Number
AD0779572

Entities

People

  • Walter G. Parks

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antitank Warfare
  • Artillery
  • Collateral Damage
  • Defense Systems
  • Deterrence
  • Europe
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • Military Applications
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Weapons

Fields of Study

  • Physics
  • Political science

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security
  • Strategic Security Studies