[en] It is argued that the measurement of the inclusive quasi-elastic deuteron production cross section coming from intermediate energy nucleons bombarding nuclei is of considerable theoretical interest. The inclusivity of the measurement leads to simplifications and allows a quasi-classical description to be used. A simple, heuristic and quantum mechanically well defined formula is derived which includes for the first time a realistic treatment of the multiple scattering complications inherent in the problem. A rough calculation based on this formula gives reasonable agreement with the limited data available. It is concluded that the reaction is not highly peripheral. A greater possibility of yielding information on nuclear correlation is believed to be offered by this and related reactions. The theory of this reaction is shown to be fundamental to recent quasi-classical theories of heavy ion collisions. (author)