Estarlio comments on Rationality Quotes September 2013 - Less Wrong

5 Post author: Vaniver 04 September 2013 05:02AM

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Comment author: Estarlio 10 September 2013 01:25:13PM *  1 point [-]

Strategic nuclear weapons - the original and most widespread nuclear weapons - cannot be used with restraint.

They can. One of the problems that America had, going into the 80s, was that its ICBM force was becoming vulnerable to a potential surprise attack by the CCCP. This concerned them because only the ICBM force, at the time, had the sort of accuracy necessary for taking out hardened targets in a limited strike - like their opponent's strategic forces. And they were understandably reluctant to rely on systems that could only be used for city busting - i.e. the submarine force.

If you're interested in this, I suggest the - contemporary with that problem - documentary First Strike.

Comment author: TobyBartels 14 September 2013 08:07:59AM 0 points [-]

CCCP

You mean СССР?

</pedantic joke>