“I am become death, the destroyer of worlds,” thought Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer as he witnessed the destructive power he and his team had wrought at Los Alamos in 1945. Since this historic weapons test, nuclear weapons have grown not only in numbers but in lethality and sophistication, populating our world in the underground bunkers, high-altitude bombers, and deep-sea submarines of nine nations. We know all too well of the existence of nuclear weapons; in fact, a seed from a tree that survived a nuclear explosion can be found on this very campus.

The reason nuclear weapons have rapidly populated the Earth since their invention is due to the Mutually Assured Destruction doctrine, or M.A.D. for short. This military strategy holds the idea that if two or more nations have nuclear weapons, they will never disarm and never attack the other. If they do, since everybody has enough nuclear weapons to end life on Earth several times over, everybody will die in defeat. This doctrine, many believe, is the reason war between world powers hasn’t happened since World War II, and thus has helped to make the world more peaceful.

I hold that this doctrine is not only entirely unfounded in facts, but is seriously outdated and dangerously misguided. We must fundamentally change how we think about, utilize, and guard nuclear weapons and nuclear materials if we are to continue to survive as a civilization.

If you’ve heard of this doctrine, it was probably in a class about the Cold War, and it was probably presented as the main reason “great power” war doesn’t happen today. This is because, from presidents to plebes, three fundamental beliefs are held about M.A.D.; That it stopped the Cold War from becoming hot, that nations with nukes don’t fight other nations with nukes, and that nukes deter aggression from and on nations.

All of these beliefs are false, and I shall debunk them one by one, starting with the most important assumption that M.A.D. kept the Cold War cold. In 1962, when the Cuban missile crisis was at its height, a Soviet attack submarine almost launched its nuclear-tipped torpedo at an “attacking” American warship. Three officers had to agree to launch the weapon, and while two agreed, one did not. He ended up talking his comrades down.

In 1979, a NORAD computer suddenly signaled that the USSR was launching a full-scale nuclear attack, prompting bombers and missiles to be readied. After no missiles were detected entering the atmosphere, it was found that a technician had accidentally put a training simulation tape into the wrong computer. A state department official noted that incidents like this one were not abnormal.

In 1983, during an incredibly tense period between the USA and USSR, a Soviet satellite indicated that five American missiles were on their way to Soviet cities. The officer on duty remarked that “when people start a war, they don’t start it with only five missiles”, and no action was taken. Investigations later found that sunlight had reflected off of clouds, struck the satellite, and caused its sensors to believe a missile had been launched.

In 1995, after the Cold War officially “ended”, a Russian warning system indicated a surprise missile launch from Norway. Russian nuclear forces were activated, but when satellites didn’t detect any US missiles leaving their silos, it was later discovered that the “missile” in question was part of a Norwegian science project.

The reason the Cold War didn’t go hot wasn’t because of M.A.D., but only because rational individuals (and working equipment) were in the right place at the right time. Let’s hope that continues.

M.A.D. also doesn’t prevent nuclear states from fighting each other. India and Pakistan have been fighting over the territory of Kashmir since 1947, using everything from airstrikes to third-party militant groups to drive the other out. Both nations conducted nuclear tests in 1998, and went to war over Kashmir in 1999. Clashes in the region still continue between militants (likely supported by Pakistan) and Indian security forces to this day, creating tensions that are of nail-biting concern.

As aptly proven above, M.A.D. does not deter aggression from or on states, and it especially doesn’t deter terrorists. Police in Moldova (a country nestled between Ukraine and Romania) have intercepted illicit shipments of nuclear material that were destined for extremist groups in the Middle East, like Daesh (ISIS). The nuclear material has its origins somewhere in Russia, but the actual crime syndicates themselves are still unknown.

Because of M.A.D., hundreds of American nuclear weapons are on “hair-trigger” alert on a daily basis, ready to fire at a moment’s notice. This has prompted some concerned scientists to create a “doomsday clock”, with the clock always a few ticks before it hits “midnight” (Armageddon).

One of the ways the United States can turn back the infamous “doomsday clock” is by taking weapons off of “hair-trigger” alert, convincing other powers to do the same, and by finally recognizing that the M.A.D. doctrine isn’t simply mad, it’s insane.