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> One particularly ominous example of this nuclear deployment was the Soviets’ “Dead Hand” system, which has only come to light since the end of the Cold War. [
by rdtsc 9y ago
> One particularly ominous example of this nuclear deployment was the Soviets’ “Dead Hand” system, which has only come to light since the end of the Cold War. [...] Almost unbelievably, the Soviet leadership failed to notify the West that it had built this seemingly impregnable nuclear deterrent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand
One of the main reasons (besides the obvious one) for having this system was to protect against hotheaded generals at the top. The reasoning is this - if they know they have the capability of a retaliatory strike, they don't have to rush to press the button, knowing they will still have the ability to retaliate.
That could explain probably why they never bothered to publicly announce it to the West. Or maybe they assumed the West would find out about it through its spy network anyway...
- 3pt14159 9y agoI talk about WMDs / submarine communications with arms control people for fun sometimes. Well the game theory gets weird with dead hands. Of course you want to deter, but you need to keep the deterrence partially shrouded because you do not want your adversary to know for certain that they've completely designed around you. You want them to have known unknowns (ie, they know that they don't fully know how you're going to respond, but they know the outcome if you are successful). I have an unorthodox opinion about nuclear weapons. I think that we might see one or two be used in the not too distant future if things get super hot with weaponized robotics. Most people assume that all countries are going to push for complete launch or not, but there are situations where I think they could be used. For example a large attack by India towards Pakistan could be met with a small nuclear response on a relatively unpopulated area.
- delibes 9y ago> For example a large attack by India towards Pakistan That's 8th on the list in the movie Wargames :) https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/24ujzq/for_fans_of_the_movie_wargames_a_list_of_all_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/24ujzq/for_fans_of_...