NUKE THEM FROM ORBIT

I finally got through Minimum Means of Reprisal and I have to say, it was intriguing. As a primer for Chinese nuclear posture it's quite well written. I suspect that it is reasonably accessible even if you didn't get a degree in International Relations. The basic Chinese tenet appears to be that any nuclear reprisal, from one bomb to 100 million is sufficient for rational deterrence, so there isn't any need to have a massive nuclear industrial complex.

In addition, the removal of bombs from military authority, warhead and launch vehicles are separate, makes nukes a political and not a military weapon. I've argued before that nukes aren't a weapon system per se - they aren't dominant enough to make having them the only rational choice for a nation (mainly because of the side effect of their use.) These same side effects also limit their battlefield utility and the array of locations where they could be used to advantage. The colorful quote from Aliens up in the title bar "take off, nuke them from orbit. It's the only way to be sure" gives a good anecdote for this lack of utility. They're useful for making large explosions, from orbit where the explosion can't harm the attacker, and in a situation where the ground that they're being used on isn't valuable enough that reoccupying it is important.

Anyway, I'm off to ponder this while at work, and I have to recommend the book if you've any interest in Chinese deterrence policy.