Abstract
‘He thinks we think… So we must’! The dilemma of when to use a nuclear weapon; how many to use; where to use is indicative of failure of deterrence!! Mao Tse-tung may have said (in August 1946), “The atom bomb is a ‘paper tiger’ which the United States reactionaries use to scare people. It looks terrible, but in fact it isn’t.” However, the Chinese did not restrain themselves in exploding an ‘atom bomb’ in 1964 and have since then given highest priority to developing nuclear capability. The reality that has emerged is that as long as nuclear weapons are around, even in small numbers, there will be a need to deter their use. Deterring these being used in a conflict between two nations, both possessing nuclear weapons, is the test of a nation’s determination. There is also a need to ensure that these weapons are not being used by one that possesses nuclear weapons against a nation not possessing nuclear weapons and that this self-restraint is to be a nation’s moral code.