Deterrence

Deterrence means trying to stop a potential enemy from attacking by threatening to retaliate.  In theory, by building a nuclear weapons arsenal (or developing other weapons of mass destruction), a state prevents a perceived enemy from attacking it. An enemy would judge that the cost of an attack, particularly nuclear retaliation, would be greater than the potential gains.

Since the Soviet Union (now, Russia) and China acquired nuclear weapons in 1949 and 1964, respectively, the United States has relied on deterrence to discourage these countries from using nuclear weapons against it. The United States renewed its commitment to deterrence in the Joint Chiefs of Staff draft  "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" (March 2005)and the "National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction" (February 2006). The Soviet Union (and Russia) and China have adopted this deterrence strategy against each other and against the United States, as have all other nuclear states with respect to their nuclear adversaries. In the area of chemical and biological weapons (CBW), the best-known example of mutual deterrence occurred during World War II, when it appears that the threat of retaliatory use of CBW by the Allies dissuaded Germany from using these armaments. Other factors also played a role, however, such as the legal prohibition on CBW use enshrined in the 1925 Geneva Protocol, and the lack of military planning for CBW operations.

Further Reading:

	Robert S. McNamara, Mutual Deterrence
	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction" (2/13/06)
	CATO Institute, Jeffrey Record, "Nuclear Deterrence, Preventive War, and Counterproliferation"
	Arms Control Today, Hans Kristensen, "The Role of U.S. Nuclear Weapons"
	U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations
	RAND, Dean Wilkening and Kenneth Watman, "Regional Deterrence: The Nuclear Dimension"
	National Academy Press, Post-Cold War Conflict Deterrence
	Baker Spring, Implications of the Nuclear Posture Review for Extended Deterrence