[simonh]

Of course they are, and “Purposefully targeting civilian populations as such directly conflicted with the international norms of the day" is complete and utter guff. This was immediately after the systematic, thorough going population centre bombing campaigns of WW II. Which planet are these people from?

nevertheless the fact remains that most nuclear weapons are tactical or mid-range and therefore not primarily suitable for population attack. The primary reason Russian tank divisions didn't swoop through Germany in the 1950s wasn't because atom bombs would rain down on Moscow (although they would) it was because atom bombs would rain down on the tank divisions.