ABSTRACT
A nuclear doctrine is a set of operational beliefs, values and assertions that guide long term planning. Limited nuclear strikes are selected among more than 40,000 potential targets, according to Desmond Ball. The rise of counterforce is alarming because such as doctrine tries to think of war with atomic weapons from a conventional perspective. Counterforce indeed appeared to be nothing less than a traditional Clausewitzian objective of wartime operations-the destruction of the enemy’s military weaponry. The fact of the matter is: there is evidence that several Administrations in the past came to perceive a counterforce war as a conventional battle with nuclear bombs. The apocalyptics believe that a nuclear war would be an all-out war, which no preparation for selective military engagements could prevent, and that the US has enough nuclear firepower-without counterforce-to maintain an effective deterrent posture towards the U.S.S.R.
