Deterrence has also been used on a “proxy” basis by the superpowers, when smaller states have threatened each other in such a way that other countries would inevitably have been drawn into the conflict. One such example was Israel’s attack on the Arab nations, when air reconnaissance photographs proved the Israelis were arming their nuclear intermediate-range missiles, in order to destroy the civilian populations of “enemy” capital cities in the Middle East. Realizing the imminent danger of an Arab holocaust, the Russians very openly armed two “Scud C” missile batteries in Egypt with nuclear warheads, then casually aimed them directly at Tel Aviv. Mutual destruction was thus assured by the superpower umpire, and deterrence won the day.
Nuclear weapons were not the long-term deterrence solution however, because in the event of a madman calling someone’s bluff, a nuclear weapon would actually have to be fired with unpredictable results. What was needed was a far more subtle system, one that could be used openly in such a way that the public would not recognize it as a weapon system at all. Most obvious was the serious manipulation of weather patterns on the “aggressor’s ” home turf, thereby forcing him to back off ,or face military and economic ruin.
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