How MAD can they be?
Deterrence and its limits
EVEN if Iran got the bomb, it would know that Israel had one too, and that knowledge would deter both countries from using their weapons, just as the doctrine of “Mutual Assured Destruction” kept America and the Soviet Union at peace during the cold war. That is the soothing assumption of those who say Israel can live with a nuclear Iran. Is it correct?
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “How MAD can they be?”
Briefing February 10th 2007
From the February 10th 2007 edition
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