President Reagans Strategic Defense Initiative: In Relation With the Soviet :: Nuclear War

"For the first time humankind has the power to destroy itself." 1 The nuclear age has changed the world, for the good and the bad. Though the bad, is far greater than the good. We sometimes ponder to our selves, "what would happen if we were forced in to a nuclear war ware their are now winners." The way life would be after such an incident would change life as we know it drastically. In the event of a nuclear war with the Soviets we would have lost approximately one hundred and fifty million American lives. 2 The planet would be destroyed to the extent that even thoughts who survived would have no place to live. No Government, or persons, can win a nuclear war and as long as their are nuclear missiles of mass destruction there will always be the risk of someone using them. Once the first missile is unleashed their is no telling were it would stop. Our dealings with the former Soviet Union was based on the French word, detente, that the Russians had defined as a freedom to purchase subversion, aggression and expansionism any were in the world. 3 The soviets have been, up until 1990, the U.S's defacto enemies. There goal was too destroy democracy and imposing communism. 4 This is way it was though to be inevitable for a nuclear war with the soviets. "The dream of a non nuclear world is a great and notable one, how ever for the foreseeable future it is unattainable in actuality and unwise in theory." 5 Because of this harsh the United States is left with a problem; How can we beet this so called inevitability? The answer is: space based defense weapons. The program, brought forth by the Reagan administration, was called the strategic defense Initiative, and some called "Star Wars." 6 Reagan's strategic defense initiative, created in the 80's, was an acceptable for the U.S; it worked to convince the Soviets not only to reduce there nuclear arsenal but to halt any chance for a nuclear attack by the Soviets. " What is the worth of our society as we know it? Right now we hold an entire population hostage." 7 Ever since the 1960's our main defense against the soviets has been the MAD policy, Mutual Assured Destruction. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had enough nuclear weapons at their disposal so that if one fired at the other the one that was being fired at would fire it's missiles at the other too. In other words, they would share the same fate.