Sinister Negotiaton Failures

Diminishing Nuclear Deterence

One of the claims that the Russians have raised against the new European radar bases that are under construction by the U.S, is that the bases can be used against Russia as a means of diminishing their nuclear deterence. In other words, the Russian leaders feel that should they decide to launch a nuclear barrage at the U.S, these startegically located radar bases could significantly reduce the amount of damage their strike might inflict. I think that most people would understand why such a claim scares me. Why Strike the U.S? The first question that comes to mind, is; why should the Russians feel the need to launch a nuclear strike against the U.S? Do they fear that the U.S might strike them first? Are the Russians really at peace or are they just biding their time and waiting for the opportunity to strike? Even worse; what if the Russian are correct? What if the U.S really fear the Russian strike and that is why they want the radar stations? In that case, maybe we do need to fear a U.S nuclear strike as soon as the radar bases are operational.

An Explosive Peace

The truth is that the nuclear barrage of the entire Russian arsenal launched at the U.S, is probably superflous by several orders of magnitude. This remains true even with sophisticated radar bases. The whole point of nuclear peace is that everyone is forced to behave themselves. Although the construction of appropriate defenses is wise and desirable, it does not solve the real problem. We must hope that under the threat of nuclear war both nations will learn to behave themselves until such behavior become second nature and the threat is forgotten completely.