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hyperion2010

I think you are forgetting that there are nuclear missile submarines within striking distance of every major Chinese city. This is a game of chicken, not a game of "who has better logistics."

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I'm sure getting SF and LA nuked because the US lobbed a couple at Beijing and Shanghai first will play great with the electorate.

It would also be the third time the US unilaterally used nuclear weapons first which I'm sure has no international political implications.

After reading this I had a sad chuckle when I realized that as described these events would actually play pretty darned well with a large swath of the electorate :/

Unfortunately, I can think of voter demographics that wouldn't mind having those four cities wiped off the map as well. We haven't had a total war in so long that we're like a child that doesn't know how much touching a hot stove could hurt.

I doubt the US would launch a nuclear countervalue first strike against Chinese cities. A more likely scenario would be that the Chinese use a tactical nuclear weapon to knock out a US Navy carrier, and then the US retaliates against a Chinese military base, and then the situation escalates from there.

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