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Soviets Built a Doomsday Machine; It's Still Alive

An anonymous reader points out a story in Wired introducing us to the Doomsday Machine built by the Soviet Union in the 1980s — and that remains active to this day. It was called "Perimeter." The article explains why the device was built, and why the Soviets considered it to be something that kept the peace, even though they never told the US about it. "[Reagan's] strategy worked. Moscow soon believed the new US leadership really was ready to fight a nuclear war. But the Soviets also became convinced that the US was now willing to start a nuclear war. ... A few months later, Reagan... announced that the US was going to develop a shield of lasers and nuclear weapons in space to defend against Soviet warheads. ... To Moscow it was the Death Star — and it confirmed that the US was planning an attack. ... By guaranteeing that Moscow could hit back, Perimeter was actually designed to keep an overeager Soviet military or civilian leader from launching prematurely during a crisis. The point, [an informant] says, was 'to cool down all these hotheads and extremists. No matter what was going to happen, there still would be revenge. Those who attack us will be punished.'"

3 of 638 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Doomsday Machine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    because how right or wrong something is depends on the numbers. fucking idiot.

  2. Re:Doomsday Machine by ArsonSmith · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Suffers or thrives? in the freshly tilled ground.

    Think Japan.

    --
    Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
  3. Re:Doomsday Machine by Obfuscant · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    It migth come as a surprise to you but the planet could easily survice removal of all human life within USSR *and* USA too,

    No, dear, no surprise. That was exactly my point. Thanks for getting it.

    ... that means that the USSR device isn't a doomsday device either, doesn't it?

    Well, dear, that depends on whether the USSR [sic] device is some kind of "new bomb" that removes humans only, or the routine old kind of bomb that blows everything up and spreads decades-long contamination all over the planet and killing humans is collateral damage.

    The "new bomb" that removes all humans from Russia to a depth of 500 miles clearly won't destroy the planet; it won't cause "polar axis tilt" or "9 level" earthquakes. The USSR [sic] device probably isn't as clean in it's operation.