John Garnett

The strategy of nuclear deterrence prevented nuclear war and kept major conflicts such as the Korean War from escalating, argues John Garnett in the following selection. According to Gar- nett, the mutual vulnerability created by nuclear weapons convinced the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union that the enemy could only be deterred from nuclear assaults by the threat of retaliation. In consequence, he argues, both superpowers increased their nuclear arsenals to levels matching what they believed the other had, an arms buildup that established a delicate, but effective, balance between the two nations. Although not an ideal solution, Garnett claims, in the end mutual deterrence helped prevent the superpowers from going to war. Garnett, coauthor with L.W. Martin of British Foreign Policy: Challenges and Choices for the 21st...