English Reading Practice - 0009 Success Rule

Before I leave the subject of disarmament there is one further point of importance. Some writers argue that the best way to minimize the explosive quality of the present arms race is somehow to develop a stable balance of terror. This means developing nuclear weapons and delivery systems so strong and so varied that no surprise attack could knock out the power to retaliate. I can see some force in this argument. Effective deterrence depends to some extent on the mutual conviction that the other man can and will do what he threatens if he is attacked. And this may be, for the time being, the only practical way of curbing hasty action. But, in fact, attempting to produce stability in this way also means continuing the arms race. Because, as the power to retaliate increases, there is bound to be a corresponding search for improved weapons which will increase the element of surprise. In any case, in action through fear, which is the basis of deterrence, is not a positive way to secure peace－at any rate in the long run. I feel bound to doubt whether safety, as Winston Churchill once claimed, can really become the "sturdy child of terror."