Doctrine & strategy
Countervalue
A nuclear targeting strategy aimed at destroying an opponent's population centers, industry, and economic infrastructure.
Countervalue targeting is the classical approach to nuclear deterrence: hold the opponent's cities at risk so they cannot survive a war as a nation. It does not require pinpoint accuracy and was the dominant strategy during the early Cold War. MAD is fundamentally a countervalue concept.
Related terms
Counterforce
A nuclear targeting strategy aimed at destroying an opponent's military forces, especially their nuclear weapons and command-and-control.
MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction)
A Cold War strategic doctrine in which two or more nuclear-armed adversaries each possess sufficient retaliatory capability that any nuclear attack would result in their own destruction.
Nuclear Deterrence
The strategy of preventing adversary action by maintaining a credible threat of unacceptable nuclear retaliation.