Which statement best describes why the United States and the Soviet Union did not engage in a nuclear war?

D Both sides had enough weapons and delivery systems to destroy each other several times over. This is the MAD concept - Mutually Assured Destruction. Since there could be no winner, neither side wanted to risk a nuclear war but both sides continued to provoke the other with acts of brinkmanship. So, ironically, it was the possession of nuclear weapons by both sides that prevented a nuclear war.