In “US, Russia nuke
tensions may be even worse than Iran threat” (August 12), Yonah Jeremy Bob
writes, “The threat posed by a potential nuclear Iran is no laughing matter.
But neither is the escalating threat of a nuclear exchange between the US and
Russia.”
The Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) doctrine is still in effect between the US and Russia, but does not apply to Iran, since, as Bernard Lewis warned, “For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement...”
Speaking to an audience of international experts in Sochi last October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “The aggressor will have to understand that retaliation is inevitable, that he will be destroyed and that we, as victims of aggression, as martyrs, will go to heaven. They will simply croak because they won’t even have time to repent.”
This may indicate that Putin’s concept of the MAD doctrine differs from the classic Soviet one. Is this just rhetoric or should Putin’s invocation of martyrs be a reason for serious concern?
The Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) doctrine is still in effect between the US and Russia, but does not apply to Iran, since, as Bernard Lewis warned, “For people with this mindset, MAD is not a constraint; it is an inducement...”
Speaking to an audience of international experts in Sochi last October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “The aggressor will have to understand that retaliation is inevitable, that he will be destroyed and that we, as victims of aggression, as martyrs, will go to heaven. They will simply croak because they won’t even have time to repent.”
This may indicate that Putin’s concept of the MAD doctrine differs from the classic Soviet one. Is this just rhetoric or should Putin’s invocation of martyrs be a reason for serious concern?
MLADEN
ANDRIJASEVIC
Beersheba
Beersheba
