https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/newts-world/id1452065072Newt interviews Annie Jacobson
about her book on nuclear war.
two things that stand out to me :
The American military strategy at first was how to win a nuclear war but later evolved to deterrence which has been the strategy since.
If deterrence fails then Armageddon will be upon us in "72 minutes".
Decades of war games all point to once strategic weapons or even tactical nucs are used game is over.
We all die.
Even the use of tactical nuc which in theory is to limit the spread will almost assuredly lead to further escalation towards preemptive strikes.
one question I had after the interview is what about a country that only has a few nucs such as N Korea or soon if not already a nuclear Iran?
We can certainly annihilate them while they could not do the same to us.
I was also intrigued about the Reagan reversal.
I still remember the day after I saw the movie "the Day After" during medical school shortly after the Grenada invasion being unable to sleep that night. I was the only one who I spoke to about it who seemed to be upset by it.
Well it turns out that Reagan after seeing that movie reached to Gorbachev and so began negotiations that led to reducing nuclear bombs from 70,000 then to around 7,000 today.
(great minds - mine and RR's think alike)