Nuclear weapons aren't what they appear, they're purely defensive insofar as to deter conquest.
Well maybe except with Japan, fry baby fry.
Pretty much this. A nuclear missile is merely a defensive tool, used to keep other countries from fucking with them. I would say you have to be really crazy to not realize that if you used a nuclear missile then many countries would target you immediately in retaliation. It's pretty much a death sentence if used. You also have to consider if your allies are going to have your back if it could mean being in the midst of nuclear warfare.
A nuclear weapon is also hard to hide if fired. Everyone will know immediately where it came from. That's why I feel in a way a nuclear weapon is kind of an old tool. The way countries/terrorists are attacking is evolving. We are in the middle of a digital age, which means attacks are shifting to a new form, hacking.
Do you want to spend millions on a nuclear missiles, and centrifuges, or spend a few grand on computer equipment and try to hack into a power grid, or water treatment plant running 40 year old hardware, from behind the safety of a trail of hidden virtual IP's? A successful hack on a power grid(s) could kill more people than a nuclear explosion, if unable to be fixed in a timely manner. Terrorists realize this, and that's why they are so tech-savvy.
You also must consider that there are counter-measures taken to obliterate or postpone other countries nuclear programs. For example STUXNET.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
If one fell in the hands of an elusive group like ISIS though, I think they would eventually use it.
I've been saying for awhile now that this conflict is nowhere near over. Maybe it will end in our lifetime, maybe not, but it's going to get much worse before it gets better. People think I'm crazy when I say this, but no amount of conflict is going to result in world peace as long as we all have religious differences.
Here are 3 possible the scenarios I see unfolding:
1. We annihilate almost everyone on this planet, and repeat the cycle.
2. Science finally explains religion in a way that everyone must accept, because it has been proven 100%.
3. Science finally disproves religion in a way that no one can deny, and it is accpeted throughout the world.
2 or 3 are probably not happening in our lifetime.
