Outsider:  Apparently you don't understand the principles of MAD.  A "first strike" as you describe would be "automatically met with a reprisal strike"  This is what prevents the "first strike."  It's, indeed, a tragedy that we have the capability to destroy the world....but, we do.  It is mainly the "balance of terror" represented by MAD that has prevented someone from using nuclear weapons.  This, of course, is the issue with "unsecured" tactical weapons and nuclear proliferation.  Terrorists or some really wacko leader (N. Korea comes to mind) might be willing to launch that first strike disregarding the reprisals which would come.  Of course a terrorist group would be "exempt" since no nation could reasonably be targeted for reprisal.  We made that mistake with Iraq and certainly don't want to repeat it with a nuclear weapon.  The dangers of nuclear war are one of my concerns with having someone as unbalanced as Trump as President.  Gary Crum

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