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Summary Of Under The Mushroom Cloud

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Recommended: Policies of the cold war

1. Downing, Taylor. “Under the Mushroom Cloud” History Today 58, no. 8 (2008): 22-23.
a. Multiple times during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union came close to engaging in a nuclear war, but they did not due to the principle of Mutually Assured Destruction(MAD). However, now that the Cold War has ended and several more countries have become nuclear powers, game theory states that international politics will become less stable and predictable. This negates the effects of the principle of MAD and makes nuclear war a larger possibility. The article supports its argument with historical facts about the Cold War and game theory.
b. Taylor Downing is a writer and a historian who has published several books about the Cold War. He …show more content…

The article suggests that the current doctrine of MAD followed by nuclear powers is not needed nor is it relevant. MAD requires a country to have many nuclear weapons ready to fire rapidly and that a country has many nuclear to devastate your opponent in case of attack. However, now that the Cold War and nuclear arms race are over as well, it makes no sense financially for the United States and Russia to keep such massive nuclear arsenals that are expensive to maintain. The author seeks for countries to replace the MAD doctrine with a Cooperative Threat Reduction doctrine, which is a form of nuclear non-proliferation for nuclear powers where countries could reduce the amount and build alliances with each other. The author backs up their claims with facts and statistics
b. Michael Krepon is a co-founder and author for the American thinktank called The Stimson Center, he has taught at the University of Virginia and he worked on nuclear arms control for U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The Stimson Center focuses on a wide range of global issues from nuclear non-proliferation, wildlife protection, water security and other issues. He has been working in the field of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation since 1989 and is an expert in the field. The cited article has 18 other citations and was published in a peer-reviewed …show more content…

Holdstock, Douglas and Waterston, Lis. “Nuclear Weapons, a Continuing Threat to Health.” The Lancet 355, no. 9214 (2000): 1544-1547.
a. Nuclear weapons, even when not involved in nuclear war, are still bad for the public. Misunderstandings or terrorism could result in the detonation of a nuclear bomb. Miners of uranium and plutonium for nuclear bombs have higher rates of lung cancers than non-miners. Areas close to nuclear test zones still have higher levels of radiation than normal even after more than 50 years and the surrounding areas and the residents have higher chances of certain cancers. The author supports their claims with statistics and facts.
b. Douglas Holdstock was a noted doctor and gastroenterologist at Ashford Hospital in Middlesex in the United Kingdom who focused on the effects of radioactivity and nuclear weapons on health. He is an expert in the field publishing several books and articles on the effects of radiation on health. Lis Waterston is a doctor who has only published this article. The cited article has been cited in 15 other articles and was published in a peer reviewed

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