> If the US were to respond to a false alarm by say, nuking Russia, they could expect a 100% chance that Russia would retaliate. Unless the attack successfully

> If the US were to respond to a false alarm by say, nuking Russia, they could expect a 100% chance that Russia would retaliate. Unless the attack successfully disables their response. I don't think it makes sense to rely on that, but it's definitely a point that has factored into various calculations around this issue over the years.