But as a matter of international law and geopolitics, “left of launch” was far more fraught. At its core was the idea that the United States was prepared to mount a strike against another nation in peacetime, getting inside their infrastructure to attack their missile and command-and-control systems before they could be used against the United States. Of course, if a president ordered such a strike in the traditional way—say, by sending bombers in to destroy a missile base in peacetime—it would likely trigger a war. The hope was that by turning to cyberweapons or other sabotage, the United
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