mutually assured destruction
Deterrence through annihilation
Mutually assured destruction is the Cold War doctrine that nuclear war between superpowers would annihilate both sides, making attack suicidal.
The threat of total destruction theoretically deters first strikes.
Often abbreviated MAD.
The phrase now applies to any standoff where both parties would be ruined by conflict: Their divorce lawyers warned them they were headed for mutually assured destruction.
1962 US-Soviet nuclear standoff
- brinkmanshipPushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- nuclear standoffArmed nations frozen mid-threat
- superpower rivalryContest between dominant nations
- Iron CurtainCold War's political divide
NATO · Warsaw Pact · Khrushchev · Kennedy · détente · containment · arms race · Berlin Wall
Three-platform weapons delivery system
- balance of terrorStability through reciprocal threat
- nuclear umbrellaAllied atomic defense guarantee
- massive retaliationAll-out punitive response doctrine
- counterforceMilitary-targeted strike capability
Pushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- spiralCurve winding around center
- provocationAct that triggers response
- retaliationPunitive response to injury
- first strikeInitiating combat unprovoked
preemptive strike · flashpoint · miscalculation · tensions · confrontation · saber-rattling · ultimatum · red lines
Complete vanishing of a species
- doomsdayProphesied world's end
- nuclear winterWartime cooling catastrophe
- total warConflict engaging entire nations
- holocaustLarge-scale fiery destruction
obliteration · fallout · unsurvivable · catastrophe · pyrrhic · dead hand · world-ending
Mutual blocking, no progress
- impasseSituation without resolution
- standoffUnresolved confrontation between opponents
- Mexican standoffMultiparty armed deadlock
- equilibriumState of balance
checkmate · frozen conflict · balance of power · parity · status quo · unwinnable · zero-sum · game theory
Cuban Missile Crisis
1962 US-Soviet nuclear standoff
- brinkmanshipPushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- nuclear standoffArmed nations frozen mid-threat
- superpower rivalryContest between dominant nations
Iron Curtain · NATO · Warsaw Pact · Khrushchev · Kennedy · détente · containment · arms race · Berlin Wall · hotline
nuclear triad
Three-platform weapons delivery system
- balance of terrorStability through reciprocal threat
- nuclear umbrellaAllied atomic defense guarantee
- massive retaliationAll-out punitive response doctrine
counterforce · credible threat · ICBMs · bomber fleet · dissuasion
brinkmanship
Pushing conflicts to disaster's threshold
- spiralCurve winding around center
- provocationAct that triggers response
- retaliationPunitive response to injury
first strike · preemptive strike · flashpoint · miscalculation · tensions · confrontation · saber-rattling · ultimatum · red lines · point of no return
extinction
Complete vanishing of a species
- doomsdayProphesied world's end
- nuclear winterWartime cooling catastrophe
- total warConflict engaging entire nations
holocaust · obliteration · fallout · unsurvivable · catastrophe · pyrrhic · dead hand · world-ending
deadlock
Mutual blocking, no progress
- impasseSituation without resolution
- standoffUnresolved confrontation between opponents
- Mexican standoffMultiparty armed deadlock
equilibrium · checkmate · frozen conflict · balance of power · parity · status quo · unwinnable · zero-sum · game theory · prisoner's dilemma
- strategystrategy, grand strategy, tactics, tactic, tactical
- Cold WarBerlin Wall, Iron Curtain, arms race, Warsaw Pact, Cuban Missile Crisis
- Nuclearnuclear reactor, atomic bomb, nuclear energy, atomic bombs, uranium
- nuclear waratomic bomb, nuclear holocaust, nuclear arsenal, hydrogen bomb, ICBM
- military strategymilitary doctrine, combat tactics, tactical maneuvers, war planning, defense policy
- military doctrineattrition warfare, combined arms, deterrence, total war, conventional warfare
mutually assured destructionpeaceful coexistence
Non-hostile international relations
détente · armistice · total victory · decisive victory · negotiated settlement
mutually assured destructionmissile defense
System intercepting hostile projectiles
nuclear disarmament · arms control · nonproliferation · damage limitation · civil defense
mutually assured destructioncollective security
Shared defense pact system
mutual cooperation · alliance · entente · partnership · multilateralism
mutual, mutually, mutuality, assure, assured, assuredly, assurance, assurances, reassure