Sir, A “limited” nuclear war … is impossible for one simple reason: the participants would not be able to agree on whether an equal amount of suffering had been inflicted on each side. Al those hundreds of dead and mutilated civilians-who-happened-to-live-near-missile-silos complicating the issue!

No, Sir, the logic of the nuclear game dictates an unpredictable response – one which threatens unknown numbers of Russians – as the optimal deterrent to a Soviet attack. It says a lot about this logic – and incidentally helps to vindicate the American system of selecting presidential candidates – that the interests of Western civilization are best served by ensuring that the finger on the button belongs to man who is incompetent, irrational or both. Yours, etc