17 lines
No EOL
1.3 KiB
Markdown
17 lines
No EOL
1.3 KiB
Markdown
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tags:
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- Concept
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- Military
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- France
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category: "Military Technology"
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summary: "Force de Frappe ('strike force') is France's independent nuclear deterrent, developed by the mid-1960s with the doctrine - articulated by theorist Pierre Gallois - that even limited nuclear capability creates deterrence by making any attack too costly for an aggressor."
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start: 1964
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location: France
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---
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Force de Frappe, meaning "strike force" in French, refers to [[France]]'s independent nuclear deterrent. Developed by the mid-1960s, its ambition was to independently target the [[Soviet Union]] with intercontinental missiles. The intellectual spokesman for the French nuclear program was [[Pierre Gallois]], who argued that the possession of nuclear weapons, even if unequally armed, made the status quo unavoidable.[^1]
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[[France]]'s *force de frappe* became the role model for [[Israel]]'s strategic planning and its ultimate decision not to count on the American nuclear umbrella. This concept influenced [[Israel]]'s decision to complement its new reactor with a major research effort to design and manufacture long-range missiles capable of targeting the [[Middle East]] and, eventually, the [[Soviet Union]].[^1]
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### Footnotes
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[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 3. |