"Nuclear deterrence doesn't work outside of the Russian - U.S. context; Saddam Hussein showed that"

This quote by Charles Horner suggests that nuclear deterrence is not an efficient method outside of the context of the Russian-U.S. relationship. Nuclear deterrence is a strategy of utilizing the hazard of nuclear weapons to avoid an attack from another country. This method has actually been utilized by the U.S. and Russia considering that the Cold War, and has been successful in avoiding a nuclear war between the 2 countries. However, the quote suggests that this method does not operate in other contexts. Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 is used as an example of this. Regardless of the danger of nuclear retaliation from the U.S., Saddam Hussein still picked to attack Kuwait, showing that nuclear deterrence is not constantly reliable. This quote highlights the importance of understanding the context of a scenario when considering using nuclear deterrence.