If the premise that war was inevitably going to happen was accepted, more than five thousand years of political and military history said it would be best if such a war happened at a time and place of one’s choosing, and when one’s strengths were maximized. Since the end of the Second World War, no greater disparity in weapons technology has ever existed than when the United States had a monopoly on nuclear weapons right after it. How many leaders in world history would have taken advantage of such circumstances?
