[sumanthvepa]

MAD is indeed an equilibrium. But it is an unstable one. That is the problem. So far the US-USSR/Russia detante has worked, but it might not work in other situations. India and Pakistan are a case in point. They have fought at least two limited conflicts (the most recent one being last year,) despite being declared nuclear weapons powers. The possibility of catastrophic miscalculation in the fog of war is very, very real.