Editing Deterrence theory (section)

==== Examples ====
By November 1945 general [[Curtis LeMay]], who led American [[air raids on Japan]] during World War II, was thinking about how the next war would be fought. He said in a speech that month to the [[Ohio Society of New York]] that since "[[The bomber will always get through|No air attack, once it is launched, can be completely stopped]]", his country needed an air force that could immediately retaliate: "If we are prepared it may never come. It is not immediately conceivable that any nation will dare to attack us if we are prepared".<ref name="rhodes19950611">{{Cite magazine |last=Rhodes |first=Richard |date=1995-06-11 |title=The General and World War III |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/06/19/the-general-and-world-war-iii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212110359/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/06/19/the-general-and-world-war-iii |archive-date=2019-12-12 |access-date=2023-11-30 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref>

In pursuit of nuclear deterrence, the superpowers of the USSR and US engaged in a [[nuclear arms race]]. Warheads themselves evolved from [[Fission weapon|fission weapons]] to [[thermonuclear weapons]], and were extensively miniaturized for both [[Strategic nuclear weapon|strategic]] and [[Tactical nuclear weapon|tactical]] use. [[Nuclear weapons delivery]] was equally important, such as the perceived [[bomber gap]] and [[missile gap]]. Deterrence was a primary factor in the ultimate [[Nuclear proliferation|proliferation of nuclear weapons]] to ten nations in total. Generally this was the form of the threat perceived from a nearby recently nuclear-armed neighbor. In the case of [[Israeli settlement|Israel]] and [[South Africa]] deterrence was against the threat of conventional attack.{{Citeneed|date=May 2025}}

Additionally, chemical weapons were a component of deterrence for both sides, and large stockpiles were maintained until their destruction began following the 1993 [[Chemical Weapons Convention]]. Offensive [[biological weapons]] programs were pursued by both countries in the first two decades of the Cold War, but the United States program was [[Statement on Chemical and Biological Defense Policies and Programs|ended by president Richard Nixon in 1969]].{{Citeneed|date=May 2025}}