However, isn't the movie set in the Afghanistan war? In this situation the weapons are being made and used to kill, not deter.
However, there was a specific line uttered by Tony (paraphrased), "When they see this baby go off, they won't even wanna come out of their caves," right after (before?) he demonstrated the Jericho.
In real life, the atomic bomb was made to deter through killing. If not for Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the guns would have never stopped firing.
In any event: The movie was great, but I didn't like Paltrow. I find her to be very plain. I also didn't like her function; she was implemented purely for the sake of grounding Tony. That annoying "all I have is you" crap was laid on really thick (although, that bit about taking out the trash was pretty funny I must admit). Tony's a womanizer, that's his character. A stint in a cave in Afghanistan wouldn't change that.
