Mutual Assured Destruction

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One thing that is a problem with MAD is where it stands morally. It was even considered by the Bishops to be morally wrong just by threatening the death of innocent civilians (Wohlstetter, 1983). Could the United States of America really use nuclear weapons to completely eliminate an enemy nation into nothing more than a flat desolate land, void of life, with almost no chance of survival? It is a huge question when it comes to MAD because the whole point is to have the capability to destroy the opponent, but if the United States cannot do what needs to be done based on morals alone they are no threat to anyone. The power of the fake-out has been lost. The United States have had several openings that they could have used to destroy the Soviets with nuclear weapons but did not because of the principle of “Use, Never.” Hopefully in future endeavors the Soviets will see the same moral standing if the roles were reversed to not initiate a Nuclear War during times of weakness.

The bombs these days have become nothing more than a scare tactic to keep peace through the threat of total annihilation through Nuclear War for decades. MAD is very effective in the deterrent of a Nuclear War thus far through history because none have occurred. The only other acceptable and moral thing to do is declare that all Nuclear weapons should be destroyed because they have no humanitarian use to better society, but there is no way to ensure this throughout all the countries. Just like in The Lord of the Rings nobody wants to give up their “precious”. Whether the “precious” is a ring that turns you invisible or a bomb with the power to destroy whole cities in the blink of an eye with no more than a push of a button.

Work Cited

Boyer, Paul (1985). “By the Bomb’s Early Light” The University of North Carolina Press/

Kattenburg, Paul (March 23, 1983). “Mad is the Moral Position”.

Kuran, Peter, (2001). “Cold War” Atomic Central

Rose, Kenneth (2001). “One Nation Underground” New York University Press.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (updated July 14, 2014). “Russian Civil War” Encyclopædia Britannica

Wohlstetter, Albert (June, 1983). “Bishops Statements and Other Strategists on the Bombing of the Innocents”