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From: david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.followup
Subject: Re: Disarm. & Foreign Policy
Message-ID: <340@fisher.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 2-Oct-84 08:17:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: fisher.340
Posted: Tue Oct  2 08:17:36 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Oct-84 19:16:06 EDT
References: <318@ihu1e.UUCP> <4379@utzoo.UUCP>
Organization: Princeton Univ. Statistics
Lines: 15

As Henry Spencer says, the Soviets have somewhat different view of
nuclear war than the US.  However, even though they may deem civilian
lives irrelevant to *fighting* a nuclear war, they must be aware of
the dire political consequences to the Soviet state.  

The continued existence of the Soviet state is made possible only by
the forceful repression of its varying nationalities' ambitions by the
central government.  Any significant civilian casualties in the
centers of Russian power will substantially increase local autonomy.
Fragmentation of the Soviet Union would likely follow.  If civilian
casualties do not deter Soviet leadership, the danger to their unitary
state will.

					David Rubin
			{allegra|astrovax|princeton}!fisher!david