Nuclear Weapons In Cold War

The world needs nuclear weapons; they are a powerful tool in negotiation and war prevention, however they need to be treated with respect and managed properly. Nuclear weapons are very powerful and necessary tools for world peace. However ironic that statement sounds, it is a fact that is too important not to consider. During the cold war, a theory called mutually assured destruction, known by the acronym MAD (Opposing Viewpoints), came about. The philosophy stated that any countries attacked with a nuclear bomb would retaliate to the launch of a nuclear device of their own,causing the destruction of both parties. In the case of the Cuban-Missile crisis, both parties had to consider the destructive nature of the weapons and the after-effects of using them and ultimately chose to compromise. Without the ever-present threat of nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia surely would have had more conflicts throughout the cold war. In order to cut the amount of destruction caused by nuclear weapons, the United States, Russia …show more content…
In the past two decades, we’ve seen India and Pakistan take their rivalries to a new level with the introduction of smaller, precision devices called tactical nukes (Asia Society). From their initial test dates, the US and the Soviets the world’s biggest rivals(Atomic Archive). Today, Russia is attempting to continue production and research of nukes while our weapons program languishes. Even countries such as North Korea signed documents promising that they won’t produce nuclear material or weapons,(Arms Control Association) but that hasn’t stopped them in the slightest. With the recent developments of Iran’s nuclear program, what will happen? Will they dismantle their equipment or continue researching weapons of mass destruction. But the real question is, where in the future, will the United States