For the United States, the threat of Soviet nuclear retaliation could be greatly reduced – or even eliminated – if Soviet nuclear forces could be destroyed on the ground. For the Soviet Union, the force of a United States attack could be greatly blunted if Soviet bombers could strike US bombers on their bases. The Soviet High Command was afraid of “going late,” since it would then lose most of its nuclear forces and its ability to retaliate would be greatly reduced, if not destroyed completely. The strategic balance was unstable, in the sense that each side had a strong incentive to strike
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