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The other day I was watching a what - if scenario movie about Russia and the US launching their nukes at each other after war broke out in Europe. The fear of immediate and assured annihilation prevented either side from actually detonating such a device in wartime.

Then, I wondered - what if the Soviets and the US had dedicated themselves to producing truly effective (read: truly lethal) viral and/or biological weapons? Suppose that they are able to utilize their respective bomber fleets to deliver said weapons to the desired target. Or they find a way to use a rocket as the delivery system.

Besides the catastrophic destruction caused by the nukes, there is the side effect of radiation fallout and nuclear winter. Suppose then that the Cold War goes hot towards the end of the '80s, as the Soviets try to stop the inevitable collapse. NATO uses their weapons to kill whole divisions of Russian and Warsaw Pact troops, and it escalates on both sides to the contamination of cities. Any better chance for survival than a nuke war?
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