Careful. Preemption takes many forms, some of them many would find unpalatable.

Unpalatable preemption is generally better than reentry vehicles coming down your chimney.

phkahler 12 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The problem there is you can't prove anything would have come down the chimney if the preemption is successful, so people will still be unhappy.

	▲	busterarm 12 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I agree, but some of them are more obvious. Like not giving 100 billion dollars to someone who actively wants to kill you.

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wat10000 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

A thought experiment: would the world be a better place if the US had preemptively attacked the USSR in the 50s or early 60s when it was possible to do without more than “get[ting] our hair mussed” as General Turgidson put it?

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XorNot 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

But it's also the basic l basis of deterrence and the destabilizing nature of ICBM defense: relying on interceptors presumes the war happens.