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Are the Androids Dreaming Yet?

war. It was assumed this inevitable progression deterred the aggression
in the first place, and the threat of mutually assured destruction kept the
world peaceful. Giving up this tenet of defense strategy was something
the American military just could not contemplate. Many people did not
think it a rational defense strategy; it seemed appropriate the acronym
for mutually assured destruction is MAD, but this was the status quo.

We now know our worry over Russian superiority was groundless.
The West’s technological advantage, founded on the invention of
computing and sophisticated materials technology, gave us a huge
advantage. In the only battle to be fought in the 20th century between
Russian and Western tanks, during the first Iraq war, most of the Russian
tanks were destroyed with no losses to American tanks. We know this
now, but we are talking of a time when paranoia over the Soviet advantage
was the common view.

There is speculation that Reagan had muddled intercontinental
ballistic missiles with all nuclear weapons. I do not think this is true.
Reagan was a man of vision, quite comfortable with using his folksy way
to convey sincere belief, and I think abolishing all nuclear weapons was
in his mind. It would have been a breathtaking moment.

In the end a rather feeble communiqué was put together and the
talks declared a technical failure. But, both leaders had seen eye-to-eye;
both were prepared to make major concessions and both wanted an end
to the old strategy of mutually assured destruction. Wiping each other
out was no longer considered a successful outcome! The meeting, and

[Image of a white house with a grey roof]

Höfði House in Reykjavik

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