re: #140 Decatur Deb

“Start using them” is a bit conservative. A corollary of MAD was that one use of a nuke (or chem agent) in anger is the signal to empty the silos except for a mop-up reserve.
We tried to think around that by distinguishing tactical and strategic use. The Soviets did not.

That’s from the Warsaw-pact era, so it might be somewhat out of date.

detonating even a single nuclear weapon in any populated area would be a massive disaster.