MEMORANDUM
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT: Nuclear Deterrence
The globe is undoubtedly facing significant threats, and moaning will not make it a safer place. Nuclear deterrence has been the dominant aspect of the American defense strategy since the beginning of the Cold War. The deterrence strategy is easy as it seeks to persuade that potential adversary that the cost and threats of a proposed action outweigh the anticipated gains. Undeniably, the plan has been useful such as in deterring the Soviets from attacking as the potential attackers are threatened by the disastrous risks of a nuclear retaliation strike by the US. According to Lewis (1) Russia has recently expressed plans to operationalize an underwater thermonuclear weapon with the capability to douse cities such as New York in substantial radioactive fallout. In response to this development, the US should develop and operationalize a doomsday device to deter possible surprise attacks from parties such as Russia.
The potential existence of a doomsday machine is disturbing and relevant at the same time. There is a need to develop a strategic nuclear weapon to enhance the security of the country’s borders by deterring the enemy from attacking. An attack on the US creates significant safety and social, political, and economic stability threat to the rest of the world, given that the US is a superpower (Geist 238). Nuclear deterrence is a practical approach, even though the risk of massive destruction is inevitable. The effectiveness of the doomsday strategy is demonstrated in the film Dr. Strangelove. In this film, the soviet diplomat shares with the US generals and President that the machine was developed to prevent a surprise attack, and the approach also deters retaliation by beheading the command structure (Rosenbaum 1). The automated system of the device would, therefore, assure massive destruction as retaliation even if it meant wiping out the members of the Soviet regardless of whether they were indecisive.
In Dr. Strangelove, the United States nuclear strategic identifies and recognizes the flaws of a doomsday device as a deterrence strategy. He noted the possibility that an unauthorized mission bomber might activate it. However, this is a flaw and an advantage since it would instill fear on the potential aggressor (Rosenbaum 1). There is no point in developing the machine and keeping it as a secret as it would affect the effectiveness of deterrence and only promote retaliation. Lockie (1) notes that with respect to the Nagasaki and Hiroshima nuclear attacks, the US was driven by the need to win the wars, but that has changed, and its main objective is to avert the occurrence of conflicts. In this context, the US needs a doomsday device whose primary intention is not to enhance its security and that of the planet by obscuring the potential aggressor from launching the nuclear.
The deterrence concept asserts that the intention of using nuclear weapons is to discourage other nations from initiating attacks, through the assurance of revenge and potential Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD (Geist 238)). The strategy is useful in enhancing US security as it would inform states that the country is well equipped and ready to launch vengeance in case of an attack. Nations such as Russia hold the most nuclear weapons, and this threatens the stability of the planet. With a doomsday device, the US will not be hurting is security but boosting it because the existence of the weapon is a guarantee of its overall preparedness to fight any possible attacks. Without the device, the enemy is more confident of winning, given that the responsiveness of the US in retaliation would be gauged as weak.
Nuclear weapons are unique as they are characterized by powerful aspects with the intention of causing massive destruction. While a state might emerge as a win against another by launching its nuclear weapons, the damage is mutual as it affects both the aggressor and the victim to the point of damaging the entire planet. The stability of one region influences the balance of the other, which results in global collaboration and growth. However, for most nations, nuclear weapons serve as a source of wealth and power. The atomic war is based on the need for power, and the competition will ultimately hurt global security (Geist 240). The ability to retaliate is critical in the fight against nuclear attacks, and this justifies the necessity for the use to develops and operationalize its own doomsday device as a deterrence intervention.
To conclude, the potential threat of a nuclear attack on the US is both relevant and worrying. The security of the nation cannot be enhanced by hoping that the attacker will change their intention and spare the world the trauma. Developing a nuclear deterrence machine is the best measure for assuring the potential attacker that vengeance is guaranteed, thus deterring both attacks and retaliation. Developing this device will help the US to enhance its security and that of other states across the globe. With Trump as the President, this strengths my argument as he is an individual who believes in protecting the nation’s security and welfare regardless of the cost.
Bibliography
Geist, Edward Moore. "Would Russia’s undersea “doomsday drone” carry a cobalt bomb?." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 72, no. 4 (2016): 238-242.
Lewis, Jefferey. Putin’s Doomsday Machine. Foreign Policy (2015). https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/12/putins-doomsday-machine-nuclear-weapon-us-russia/
Lockie, Alex. Russian media threatens US with 100 megaton nuclear doomsday device after key arms treaty fails. Pulse, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.pulse.ng/bi/politics/russian-media-threatens-us-with-100-megaton-nuclear-doomsday-device-after-key-arms/49ypshk
Rosenbaum, Ron. The Return of the Doomsday Machine? Slate (2007). Retrieved from: https://slate.com/human-interest/2007/08/did-the-soviets-really-build-a-doomsday-machine.html
