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Cold War

Episode 12 - MAD: 1960-1972. The United States nuclear strategy of counterforce, intended to counter a Soviet conventional attack by targeting military facilities, is discredited following the Cuban Missile Crisis. Instead Defence Secretary McNamara adopts the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), with the belief that the targeting by the superpowers of each other's cities would deter a nuclear war. Both sides step up nuclear testing and acquire more nuclear weapons, in particular submarines capable of unleashing retaliation should the opponent strike first. The Soviets choose to follow a more defensive doctrine and introduce anti-ballistic missiles, which the United States seek to counter with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. The arms race remains expensive, controversial and, as demonstrated in the Palomares incident, not without risk. However some small promise of arms control comes from the SALT Treaty. Interviewees include Russell E. Dougherty, William Kaufmann and Harold Brown. (from wikipedia.org)

Episode 12 - MAD: 1960-1972


Go to Cold War Home or watch other episodes:

Episode 01 - Comrades: 1917-1945
Episode 02 - Iron Curtain: 1945-1947
Episode 03 - Marshall Plan: 1947-1952
Episode 04 - Berlin: 1948-1949
Episode 05 - Korea: 1949-1953
Episode 06 - Reds: 1947-1953
Episode 07 - After Stalin: 1953-1956
Episode 08 - Sputnik: 1949-1961
Episode 09 - The Wall: 1958-1963
Episode 10 - Cuba: 1959-1962
Episode 11 - Vietnam: 1954-1968
Episode 12 - MAD: 1960-1972
Episode 13 - Make Love, Not War: 1960s
Episode 14 - Red Spring: 1960s
Episode 15 - China: 1949-1972
Episode 16 - Detente: 1969-1975
Episode 17 - Good Guys, Bad Guys: 1967-1978
Episode 18 - Backyard: 1954-1990
Episode 19 - Freeze: 1977-1981
Episode 20 - Soldiers of God: 1975-1988
Episode 21 - Spies: 1945-1990
Episode 22 - Star Wars: 1980-1988
Episode 23 - The Wall Comes Down: 1989
Episode 24 - Conclusions: 1989-1991