Second, the soviet union, unlike previous aspirants to hegemony, is animated by a new fanatic faith, anti-thetical to our own, and seeks to impose its absolute authority over the rest of the world. conflict has, therefore, become endemic and is waged, on the part of the soviet union, by violent or non-violent methods in accordance with the dictates of expediency. with the development of increasingly terrifying weapons of mass destruction, every individual faces the ever-present possibility of annihilation should the conflict enter the phase of total war. in your own words