Russia and America Are Rediscovering the Limits of Nuclear Weapons

Henry Kissinger often said that nuclear arms are “weapons in search of a doctrine.” After the Cold War, some strategists have tried to figure out what, exactly, these weapons could buy them beyond deterrence. The answer, as it turns out, is: nothing. Two wars taking place right now are cases in point. The ongoing American attacks on Iran and Russia’s desperate campaign of atrocities in Ukraine have produced dramatic footage of two major powers taking on middleweight military opponents,…