this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2026
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[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 3 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Play this out:

  1. Russia nukes the US.

  2. In response, the US nukes Russia. Not just a little bit either, they nuke all population sites.

No "decapitation" strike is possible from either side. Any attack by either side is met by the other striking back, and again not just a little bit - all population sites. That is what mutually assured destruction is.

And maybe more if you need:

  1. if you think the US nukes Russia, then:

  2. surprise, Russia nukes the US back.

Once again, no decapitation strike is possible from either side. A strike by the US is met by Russia striking back. That is what mutually assured destruction is.

MAD literally works if either side starts nuking the other, regardless of the reason why. This is the whole basis of MAD.

Ok I'm really gonna peace out. You really need to do some reading.

[–] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

I've read Schelling's Strategy of Conflict so I have done some reading on this. Once again you are assuming players are always rational which is a simplistic assumption. The game doesn't work if one side doesn't care about iterative rounds, chooses to signal erratic behaviour or doesn't understand the implications of their actions.

A good example is Nixon's "madman theory" during the Vietnam conflict.

Trump is erratic and can't be assumed to act rationally , so his use of a nuclear weapon would massively increase the chance that Russia would use one in response on the basis that the US is willing to kill the leaders of other countries in a sneak attack.

MAD is not set in stone and can break down in certain circumstances.