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How did the Strategic Defense Initiative raise concerns about mutual assured destruction?
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nuclear strategy
The explosion from the first thermonuclear weapon (hydrogen bomb), code-named Mike, which was detonated at Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands, November 1, 1952. The photograph was taken at an altitude of 3,600 metres (12,000 feet) 80 km (50 miles) from the detonation site.
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), proposed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, raised significant concerns regarding the doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD) by challenging the established strategic reliance on offensive parity.123
MAD was founded on the principle that both superpowers would be deterred from nuclear conflict because any attack would result in their own annihilation. To maintain this stability, the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty restricted defensive systems, ensuring that both sides remained vulnerable to a second strike.245
SDI threatened this framework in several ways:
- Undermining Deterrence: By seeking to create an effective shield against intercontinental ballistic missiles, SDI aimed for a concept of "assured survival" rather than "assured destruction," which critics argued would destabilize the existing stalemate.143
- Arms Race Escalation: Critics feared that pursuing such defenses would violate the ABM Treaty and trigger a new, dangerous arms race as both sides sought to overcome or match the new technology.163
- Preemptive Risk: There was concern that the Soviet Union might perceive the development of SDI as a precursor to a U.S. first-strike capability, potentially incentivizing the Soviets to launch a preemptive attack before the defensive system became operational.63