Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A contrary or opposing force, especially a military force capable of destroying the nuclear armaments of an enemy.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An opposing force.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
force that opposes another force.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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He endorsed a version of what the RAND people called "counterforce" - that is, targeting Soviet nuclear and other military forces rather than cities, partly in an attempt to limit the damage those forces could do to Europe and to the U.S. homeland, and partly so as to hold Soviet cities hostage to further strikes and use that threat as a bargaining chip.
The Two Malcontents 2009
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The leap in American counterforce capabilities since the end of the Cold War is staggering.)
Superiority Complex 2007
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The leap in American counterforce capabilities since the end of the Cold War is staggering.)
Superiority Complex 2007
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I wholly share his interest in getting a more realistic assessment of the so-called counterforce first strike.
'How Not to Think About Nuclear War': An Exchange Bernstein, Aron M. 1982
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The Pentagon's notion of "counterforce" means the ability to destroy an adversary's nuclear missiles pre-launch with Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), then "cleaning up" the few still remaining to precude retaliation.
Reviewing F. William Engdahl's "Full Spectrum Dominance:" Part II 2009
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The Pentagon's notion of "counterforce" means the ability to destroy an adversary's nuclear missiles pre-launch with Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), then "cleaning up" the few still remaining to precude retaliation.
Printing: Reviewing F. William Engdahl's "Full Spectrum Dominance:" Part II 2009
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Instead, "counterforce" implied the political and economic defense of Western Europe against the disruptive effect of the war on European society.
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They are necessary for a disarming "counterforce" strike, aimed at pre-empting a nuclear attack — and hence winning a nuclear war.
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They are necessary for a disarming "counterforce" strike, aimed at pre-empting a nuclear attack — and hence winning a nuclear war.
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They are necessary for a disarming "counterforce" strike, aimed at pre-empting a nuclear attack — and hence winning a nuclear war.
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