If we could trust the people who held the kill switch implicitly, then I think it would be amazing. We cannot, so I think it would be disastrous. I definitely

If we could trust the people who held the kill switch implicitly, then I think it would be amazing. We cannot, so I think it would be disastrous. I definitely think MAD led to a strategic stability that was better than the alternative. This is why things like missile shields (pure defense) are seen as dangerously aggressive, and why the submarine leg of the triad is so important. If you could be confident that your opponents couldn't actually hit you, you would feel much more comfortable issuing a first strike. The fact that they might have a nuke boat somewhere off your coast means you can never be confident that a counter-force first strike will be effective, so you never do it and the world lives another day.