Pursuit of smaller nuclear weapons sparks fears of Cold War arms race revival

Click HERE
The deterrence factor of owning nuclear weapons is now wearing down, as this article shows....'cos newer nuclear weapons are now 'less destructive', making it more tempting to use them:

"One fear about the new weapons is that they could undercut the grim logic of “mutual assured destruction”, the Cold War doctrine that any attack would result in massive retaliation and, ultimately, the annihilation of all combatants. While much debated and often mocked, MAD, as it was known, worked. Now, the concern is that the precision and less-destructive nature of these new weapons raises the temptation to use them."

So we see that unlike in the past where deterrence is futile when dealing with a mad man like Hitler, today, we also have to contend with ambitious leaders who won't hesitate to use the weapons since they know now that the collateral damage is small (i.e. won't lead to 'mutual assured destruction').

Note also the colourful twist to the imagery used to close with a BANG! :
“The world has failed to put the nuclear genie back in the bottle,” said Dr Gubrud. “And new genies are now getting loose.”


Qn: Examine the extent to which expenditure on arms and the armed forces is justified in the modern world (Cam. 2014)