Mutually Assured Destruction is the concept that if someone attacks another they would respond by totally destroying the aggressor, but in the process of doing the destruction the original aggressor would be forced to totally destroy their original victim. Its acronym of MAD is very appropriate as it is mad to be the first aggressor as it would result in their own destruction.
It is appropriate with respect to nuclear weapons as superpowers have enough of such weapons to totally destroy the others, and so none would start a nuclear war (to destroy someone) because the other side could/would respond in an equally destructive manner (destroying them).
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Mutually Assured Destruction
Answer this question… It promoted peace by preventing either country from attacking first because of the certainty of an immediate counterattack.
The nation with nothing to lose. Where M.A.D. ( mutually assured destruction) dose not apply.
Based on weapons stockpiles, there was mutually assured destruction if the two superpowers went to war
a fear that they both would be destroyed in nuclear war. That is called Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)