But why would it? Who would make a unilateral strike that destroys the world?
For starters, although people were familiar with the eruption of Krakatoa in the 19th century and its effects (analogous to a big explosion) on weather even in Europe thousands of miles away, until very near the end of the Cold War in the 1980s nuclear winter wasn’t a commonly accepted idea. During most of the Cold War the idea of nuclear winter wasn’t considered (although obviously if the theory is right it would have happened if a nuclear strike occurred whether or not they were expecting it as a result).
I don’t think anyone said the other side wouldn’t take advantage of the situation. The question is whether that risk is worse than the risk posed by one’s own intelligence apparatus.
Fair enough. If that tradeoff is really considered.
