nearuniversal

In my opinion these theories have a fatal weakness of their own — the nearuniversal belief, even in military circles, that limited use of nuclear weapons would escalate into all-out use — but even so I think it fair to grant these theories are a rational attempt, at least, to deal with the shrinking of deterrence, and to get out of the all-or-nothing corner.

'How Not to Think About Nuclear War': An Exchange Bernstein, Aron M. 1982