ABSTRACT
The first use of a nuclear weapon by one state against another since 1945 will create a tectonic shift in the expectations of policy makers and military planners worldwide. The US and other countries with large coastlines and national territories were vulnerable to various attacks by weapons of mass destruction, including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. Russia's nuclear weapons deployed for use on intercontinental missiles or long range bombers are, according to Russian officials, under secure storage and control in peacetime. The US model of deterrence rationality emphasizes the calculation of costs and benefits attached to various alternative courses of action. Command-control systems present an anomaly to planners who might want to leave the door open for intrawar deterrence and nuclear war termination. The idea of ending a nuclear war already in progress implies that deterrence can be applied to the problem of limiting a war as well as preventing it.
