The theory of military deterrence was based on a simple psychological truth, that fear of retaliation makes a would b...
DanielleSeptember 10, 2019
"Unsurpassed military power" ?
I ruled D out when trying to do this problem because nowhere in the passage does it say anything about having unsurpassed military power. While A is wrong because "certain knowledge" is too specific, why would the detail of "unsurpassed military power" be reasonable to infer?
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Good question, answer choice A is a tricky one. However, specificity is not the problem here. The premise deals with the concept of military deterrence, which is one way to prevent an attack from an aggressor nation. The problem with answer choice A is the word "only." This implies that military deterrence is the ONLY way to prevent an attack. This is never stated in the premise. There could be diplomatic measures to prevent an attack, economic factors, etc.
As for answer choice D, we do not need to infer "unsurpassed military power" from the premise. It is given to us in the answer choice. But what do we know about a country with unsurpassed military power? We know that it would definitely qualify for military deterrence against any nation, so long as they are aware its military strength. This is why D is correct.
