mccgwire was best known for the 'mccgwire thesis': that the soviet military buildup during the cold war was largely due to fear of attack, and was thus a defensive measure. he confirms this with extensive empirical analysis of military strategy, and by querying political motivations. he strongly challenged the prevailing cold war view that moscow was planning pre-emptive military aggression against the west. this view, he said, had been based on preconceptions, inadequate analysis and poor understanding of soviet policy-making by western intelligence, and could have had severe repercussions. his first article in the "naval review" argued against britain's nuclear deterrent for this reason, and many other articles and two books later followed. for example, he argued that the type of armaments added to soviet vessels in the 1950s showed that they were added to protect trade routes.