This is precisely why the Russians (Soviets at the time) had to reject Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, or “Star Wars” proposal in the 1980s. Gorbachev understood, as the American public did not, that this so-called “defensive” measure actually posed an offensive threat: by neutralizing Russia’s deterrent capability, it would give the U. S. free rein to act against them with impunity. American assurances that we had no offensive designs against Russia were unconvincing from the Russian side compared to the credible and capable threat of nuclear retaliation.