These tiny nukes felt more responsible, less risky. We could use them without ending the world. But they backfired. Small nuclear bombs were more likely to actually be used in combat. That was their whole purpose. They lowered the bar of justified use. It changed the game, all for the worse. The risk was that a country would “responsibly” use a tiny nuclear weapon in battle, starting a retaliatory escalation that opened the door to launching one of the big bombs.
