[mygalinasoo]

There was an interesting article in the January (or Feb?) Scientific American about the realistic weather impact of a "limited" nuclear exchange. They used the example of Pakistan and India exchanging their arms on each other - the smoke and debris in the atmosphere would effectively eliminate agriculture for several years.

Arguably, while there is an unfortunate need for a deterrent, there is clearly no need for 1000s of nuclear weapons. Any country that can realistically detonate a dozen can hold the world hostage in many ways.