Nuclear Ping-Pong

Nuclear Ping-Pong

Nuclear Ping-Pong is the result of playing a game called Rise of Nations up until the modern eras (Microsoft). Invariably the computers will begin bombarding cities with nukes, and invariably the player—who is generally annoyed at that point—will retaliate in kind. Ultimately everything in the game will be destroyed.

Fortunately the game offers an easy solution; simply remove the use of nuclear weaponry from the game. There’s a nice little button that does just that. The real world, however, has no such button, and therefore a method of avoiding ‘nuclear ping-pong’ is necessary. Thankfully this is somewhat easier than in Rise of Nations, since neither the computers, nor the humans playing against them, care about killing virtual people.

For the past forever the theory of deterrence has acted as the limiter on nuclear weaponry. The deterrence on nuclear weapons essentially “seeks to convince adversaries that the benefits of hostile actions would be far outweighed by the consequences” (Corcoran). While this technique managed to dissuade Russia from beginning a nuclear Armageddon, it might not convince everyone, either because they believe that the utilization of a nuke is worth the costs, or because they believe that there won’t actually be a cost.

Three questions should be asked to determine if the world could degenerate into nuclear ping-pong. First, could a terrorist faction or anti-USA country obtain a nuke? Considering that North Korea already—supposedly—has nukes, and is threatening to export them, that could be answered a yes (Allison). Second, would terrorists or extremely anti-USA countries be willing to use a nuclear weapon? Third, would the USA retaliate in kind if provoked?

Looking at 9/11, I would say that terrorists probably would use a nuke if they had one. It wouldn’t be the first time they didn’t factor in long-term repercussions. And looking at the Iraqi war, the USA could be accused of the same.

Hopefully, though, nuclear ping-pong isn’t possible, or if it is, it will never occur. After all, as much as nuclear ping-pong drives me crazy in Rise of Nations, I bet it sucks even more in real life.

Allison, Graham. “No Loose Nukes: Preventing a Terrorist Nuclear Attack on the U.S.”

Corcoran, Edward. “STRATEGIC NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND DETERRENCE.”

Microsoft. Rise of Nations. 2003.