I gave up taking BHR's options fairly quickly, as has been said, the worry of being labeled a war criminal does not stop politicians doing anything!
Many many folks tell me that nukes are no deterrence at all, but then fail to point out the nuclear states that have been directly invaded or attacked recently!. On the other hand, is is easy to reel off twenty or thirty conflicts happening in non nuclear states in fairly recent history.
No matter how loony any despot is considered, none of them have gone nuclear, or risked it being unleashed on their state.
I suppose Cuba was the first demonstration of very tough talk, but with constant negotiations in the background to avoid going all the way. Both sides came out looking good (to their own side), but both had given in (the Americans kept their withdrawals quiet though).
While it is nice and polite to do lots of talking on why nukes are not needed, sadly the world does not work that way in reality IMHO.
On the other hand, and thinking holistically, nukes are a bit like the royal family in that they are not asked to do very much, but still bring revenue by just being here (revenue in political and industrial terms)
