For any party that's hit, "several hits on capital + several other major cities + military bases hit" is effectively the same (deterrent) as "every major city hit". Both equate to "country in ruins" regardless exact # of cities hit. And therefore, an non-starter.
Having enough missiles to have a chance of hitting every adversary's missiles while still in their silo's, is... nonsense. In an all-out conflict, any number of missiles would 'escape', and massive devastation on all sides the result.
But I do wonder whether we'll see 'accidental' nuclear explosion some day. Non-rational dictator that pushes the button, conventional conflict escalated into nuclear one, terrorism, or plain stupid accident / misunderstanding / technical glitch. There have been some near misses already, and higher # of bombs / missiles certainly ups the odds.
For any party that's hit, "several hits on capital + several other major cities + military bases hit" is effectively the same (deterrent) as "every major city hit". Both equate to "country in ruins" regardless exact # of cities hit. And therefore, an non-starter.
Having enough missiles to have a chance of hitting every adversary's missiles while still in their silo's, is... nonsense. In an all-out conflict, any number of missiles would 'escape', and massive devastation on all sides the result.
But I do wonder whether we'll see 'accidental' nuclear explosion some day. Non-rational dictator that pushes the button, conventional conflict escalated into nuclear one, terrorism, or plain stupid accident / misunderstanding / technical glitch. There have been some near misses already, and higher # of bombs / missiles certainly ups the odds.