3 ms·

Would you make an exception for something purely defensive, like an ICBM interceptor?

• dragonwriter 10y ago
  ICBM interceptors are (among other things) for neutralizing an enemy's retaliatory deterrence thus enabling the protected party to carry out nuclear first strikes. They are not purely defensive.
  • flukus 10y ago
    I'm not sure if it's helpful to think about things that way because it can be applied to just about everything. Does body armor make war more likely because we can kill more of theirs than they can kill ours? Does that mean personal body armor can not by considered purely defensive?
    • dragonwriter 10y ago
      > I'm not sure if it's helpful to think about things that way because it can be applied to just about everything. It can be applied to just about anything (well, anything combat-related) because, in fact, nothing combat-related is purely defensive; it's all, including things whose direct use is protective, developed and acquired in order to improve the ability to destroy the enemy. It's not helpful to delude oneself into believing that the purely defensive exists.