ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Mutually Assured Destruction

Mutually assured destruction, or MAD, is a policy between countries (or groups) that says if one country attacks the other, the other country will attack back, even if it means both of them will be destroyed. This policy is meant to make it very risky for either country to attack the other because they will be destroyed if they do so, and no one will win.