No one, and I mean, no one... Wants to ne the first firer of nukes in anger. I could see a State nuking themselves before nuking anyone else to keep that fuse from getting lit.

You don't get to put that one back in the bottle, and you're going to have to have more faith than the Pope to think that no one will respond.

Nuclear War isn't like Civilization. It's a momentary bang followed by a lot of whimper.