"Either launch first. Or convince the enemy that you will strike back even if you're dead"

clicky

"The Perimeter system is very, very nice," he says. "We remove unique responsibility from high politicians and the military..." The system remains so shrouded that Yarynich worries his continued openness puts him in danger. He might have a point: One Soviet official who spoke with Americans about the system died in a mysterious fall down a staircase. But Yarynich takes the risk. He believes the world needs to know about Dead Hand. Because, after all, it is still in place."