During the Cold War, the United States and Russia's Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD)equilibrium:
A)did not require rhetoric to function.
B)required the second strike to be automatic.
C)meant that one party wins and the other party is losing.
D)did not suffer from a credibility problem since both sides survived that war.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) was the belief that both sides in the Cold War would be deterred from launching a first strike because the other side could retaliate with a devastating second strike. For this to work, the second strike had to be automatic, meaning there would be no time for human decision-making or hesitation. Therefore, choice B is the best answer.