Keith Willshaw wrote:
"Nik Simpson" wrote in message
...
james_anatidae wrote:
I was wondering at about what point that the United States going to
war with the Soviet Union become an almost certain act of mutual
destruction. I'm assuming it sometime in 1960's or 70's, since what
I've seen of the Soviet nuclear capability before that point doesn't
seem to be all that threatening. It looks like they would have been
really bad for us Americans, but not unsurvivable.

For both sides, it became unthinkable when a first strike had little
chance
of knocking out the opponents nuclear strikeforce. As long as there was a
realistic possiblity that a surprise attack could wipe out US or USSR
strategic nuclear weapons, then I'm some on both sides gave it serious
consideration.

So I'd say MAD became a fact when both sides had deployed sufficient
nuclear
armed submarines able to roam the seas largely unseen and hence
unstoppable
in a first strike.


Even before that the B-52's flying on alert ensured that the
Soviets couldnt rely on a first strike knocking out the US
strategic response.

AIR, the "dew line" was established to give us 20 minutes notice of inbound
Soviet missiles, wasn't it? If so, I think the actual time when MAD became our
joint policies would have been in the middle fifties, or perhaps even a little
bit earlier, to coincide with our government having learned that the Soviets had
stolen our nuclear secrets and were acting on them.

George Z.