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HIS CW-12 MAD

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
 
 
MAD 1960 - 1972

With Cold War tensions heightening at the start of the 1960s, the superpowers are drawn into an escalating arms race. The world's safety depends on a nuclear paradox known as "mutual assured destruction."
ON ALERT
During the Cold War, the armed forces of both the United States and U.S.S.R. were in a state of constant vigilance. War, if it came, would soon go "nuclear." Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radars were in operation in Alaska, Greenland and England. America, still remembering the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, did not want to be surprised again.
In 1961, John F. Kennedy became the new American president. He inherited the doctrine of "massive retaliation" to any Soviet attack. Massive retaliation had been conceived at a time of clear U.S. nuclear superiority. But now, the Russians were trying to catch up.

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 1. 

What does Mutual Assured Destruction mean
a.
The country that stats the war will be destroyed
c.
The country that is attacked will be destroyed
b.
Both countries who go to war are guaranteed to be destroyed
d.
Both countries agree that neither will be destroyed in a war
 

 2. 

What is a “nuclear paradox?”
a.
War is good for all countries who engage in it
c.
Only nuclear war can save a nation from destruction
b.
The paradox bomb is the most powerful bomb in the world
d.
You go to war to save your country but your country is guaranteed to be destroyed
 

 3. 

In the early 60’s the U.S. had hundreds of missiles and airplanes with nuclear warheads pointed at the Soviet Union. In case of war the Soviets were warned that all of their cities and most of their military would be destroyed. What was this policy called?
a.
Massive retaliation
c.
The No Win Policy
b.
One city at a time
d.
The No Loss Policy
 
 
BUILDUP
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev wanted to remind the West of his nation's power. On October 30, 1961, he broke a moratorium (agreement not to test) on nuclear testing. A Russian bomber dropped the largest bomb the world had ever seen. Its explosion was the equivalent of more than 50 million tons of TNT, more than all the explosives used in World War II. It was so powerful that people 50 miles from ground zero were blown off their feet.
President Kennedy, angered by the new Soviet tests, announced that the United States would proceed in its development of nuclear weapons. But public opinion in the West was turning against the nuclear arms buildup. In Europe, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and other "ban the bomb" groups began to emerge. Kennedy and his defense secretary, Robert McNamara, meanwhile, were having second thoughts about the strategy of massive retaliation -- now it meant the United States would be initiating the use of nuclear weapons against an equally equipped Soviet Union.
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McNamara presented U.S. military planners with an appealing alternative: No Cities/Counterforce. Soviet cities were no longer to be targeted, only Soviet military forces. But the new strategy was dismissed by the Soviets as self-deluding.
 

 4. 

Why did Khrushchev detonate the massive hydrogen bomb in October 1961
a.
He wanted to impress the West with Soviet power
c.
The Soviets were trying to get rid of old weapons.
b.
The U.S. and the Soviets had an agreement that they could test whenever they wanted
d.
He wanted to warn the Soviet people to remain loyal to communism
 

 5. 

Groups who were opposed to the use of nuclear weapons in war were called
a.
military support groups
c.
conservatives
b.
ban the bomb groups
d.
nuke-em groups
 

 6. 

The Soviets thought that the Kennedy administration idea that we should not target each other cities any longer was
a.
unrealistic
c.
something they were already doing
b.
a good idea
d.
hateful
 
 
CLOSE CALL
In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. For nearly two weeks, Moscow and Washington were involved in a tense contest of wills over the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. Khrushchev, confronted by Kennedy's nuclear superiority, backed down -- ending the crisis. But both sides were shocked at how close they had come to nuclear war. They set up a "hot line," a direct communications link between the Soviet and U.S. capitals.
Several months later, the Soviet Union, United States and Britain agreed to a Limited Test Ban Treaty, ending atmospheric tests. Nuclear testing would continue, but underground. The race to increase stockpiles continued as well, as the Kremlin -- smarting from the Cuban crisis -- vowed never again to confront America from a position of weakness.
A grim logic was beginning to emerge. Nuclear disarmament was not achievable, yet nuclear war was unthinkable. The White House became convinced that the strategy of MAD, mutual assured destruction, was the only deterrent to nuclear conflict

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War?

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 7. 

How did the Soviets react to the Cuban Missile Crisis?
a.
They cut back on the development of more powerful bombs
c.
Proposed a ban on nuclear weapons
b.
They built up their nuclear forces to become more of a nuclear threat
d.
Destroyed all of their nuclear weapons.
 

 8. 

What did the U.S., Britain and the Soviets do to ban atmospheric testing?
a.
Agreed to limit bombs to those already in their stockpiles
c.
Agreed to test bombs underground
b.
Agreed to test only in the upper atmosphere
d.
Agreed not to test any more bombs
 

 9. 

What was the purpose of “the hotline?”
a.
To prevent accidental nuclear war
c.
To warn the U.S. and the Soviets that each were going to attack
b.
To warn the Soviets that we were going to attack
d.
Allow government officials time to go to bunkers in case of an attack
 

 10. 

What was the “grim logic” that emerged from the Cuban Missile Crisis?
a.
Neither the Soviets or the West could disarm even though war was too horrible to think about
c.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a logical affair
b.
The Soviets and the West could not disarm for 100 years
d.
The Cuban Missile Crisis proved that safeguards against war were in place and working well.
 

 11. 

The MAD strategy was
a.
a guarantee of war
c.
developed in the Kennedy administration
b.
a way to prevent war
d.
a comic book approach to world affairs
 
 
DETERRENCE
For MAD to succeed, each side needed to be able to retaliate, even after it had suffered a surprise attack. Submarines now played a crucial role -- as mobile launch platforms for nuclear missiles. Both sides practiced civil defense against nuclear attack, but it was generally believed that it was impossible to defend against nuclear weapons.
Even short of total war, nuclear deterrence carried its own dangers. In 1966 over the coast of Spain, a U.S. bomber collided in mid-air with a tanker aircraft. As the planes crashed, four hydrogen bombs were scattered over the coast. Three hit the ground and were recovered. One fell into the sea and was lost for 80 days. Such "Broken Arrow" incidents were growing, as both sides increased their nuclear arsenals
The U.S. had three methods of attack. These were long range bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear submarines. Nuclear submarines were especially lethal. They were designed to stay under water for long periods of time and were very hard to detect. They could surface at any time and launch their missiles.
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Soviet and U.S. missiles and bombers were designed to attack each other over the North pole. That was the shortest route

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 12. 

The policy of Deterrence was designed to prevent a war
a.
but accidents were possible
d.
all of these statements are true
b.
and it has been a success
e.
none of these statements are true
c.
and caused a generation of people to live in fear
 

 13. 

Civil defense refers to the actions that the civilian population can take to protect against nuclear attack. Which statement below is true about civil defense?
a.
Most people took civil defense seriously
c.
The U.S. and Soviets had no civil defense procedures at all
b.
Most people thought civil defense could not protect them
d.
Civil defense was our first line of defense against nuclear attack
 

 14. 

What was the shortest route for Soviet and U.S. missiles and bombers to attack each other.
a.
Over the North Pole
c.
Across the Pacific Ocean
b.
Across the Atlantic Ocean
d.
Through Normandy as was done in WWII
 
 
ANTI-MISSILES
The Soviet military was unconvinced by the MAD theory. They worked to develop anti-ballistic missiles -- ABMs -- that could destroy U.S. missiles in flight. The introduction of ABMs destabilized the concept of MAD. Tensions in the Middle East, brought on by the 1967 Six Day War, prompted U.S. President Johnson and Soviet Premier Kosygin to meet for a summit. The issue of ABMs was high on their agenda.
U.S. scientists, meanwhile, prepared a counter-measure: Multiple Independently Targeted Re-Entry Vehicles -- MIRVs for short. One single missile could now carry 10 separate warheads, each capable of destroying a city.
Nixon the Peacemaker
By 1969, the superpowers were, between them, spending more than $50 million a day on nuclear armaments. It was a burden both sides found intolerable, and it led to negotiations known as SALT, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. SALT dragged on until 1972, when U.S. President Nixon went to Moscow to sign the arms agreements with Soviet Premier Brezhnev. ABMs had now been discredited, but the two sides could not come to a lasting agreement on offensive nuclear weapons. Preparations for global annihilation continued.
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 15. 

How did the Soviets try to counteract the MAD theory
a.
By banning all nuclear weapons
c.
By developing ABMs
b.
By deploying MIRVs
d.
By appealing to the U.N.
 

 16. 

Which missiles were designed to carry 10 nuclear warheads that would spread out and destroy 10 cities instead of 1 when it came close to its target?
a.
AbMs
c.
B1s
b.
MIRVs
d.
Stealth War Heads
 

 17. 

Why were the Soviets and the U.S. concerned about the Six Day War between Israel and it’s Arab neighbors?
a.
Almost everything that happened throughout the world was part of the cold war
c.
All of these a valid sources of concern for the Soviets and the U.S.
b.
The U.S. was backing Israel while the Soviets were backing the Arab states
d.
They were afraid that conflict in the Middle East could cause a confrontation between the West and the Soviets
 

 18. 

The SALT treaty
a.
successfully limited offensive weapons between the Americans and Soviets
c.
was not agreed to be the Soviets
b.
was only partially successful but it was a start
d.
was not agreed to by the U.S,
 

 19. 

Who signed the SALT treaty for the U.S,?
a.
Truman
c.
Kennedy
b.
Johnson
d.
Nixon
 
 
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The Nuclear Club
Nations in the world that have nuclear weapons
 

 20. 

Which country below does not have nuclear weapons today?
a.
India
c.
China
b.
Pakistan
d.
Syria
 



 
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