Mutual assured destruction

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/mutual-assured-destruction

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the core requirement?Credible second-strike capability: the ability to retaliate after absorbing a first strike
2. What does Mutual Assured Destruction mean?It means that if one country uses nuclear weapons, the other will also use them, and both would be destroyed. This makes nuclear war impossible to win.
3. Why do countries keep nuclear weapons if they can destroy each other?They keep them to make sure they can still fight back even after a surprise attack, so no one will start a war because it would hurt everyone.

Second-strike Capability: The ability of a nuclear power to retaliate after suffering a nuclear attack.
Nuclear Proliferation: The spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information.
Rational Deterrence: The theory that rational actors will be deterred from aggression by the threat of severe retaliation.