The U.S. Navy announcement that it had developed a “low-yield” nuclear warhead seems straightforward enough; but, on closer examination, it contained the seeds of nuclear war. According to the Federation of Nuclear Scientists, low yield atomic weapons open the option for battlefield commanders to use them considering that low yield is self-limiting. After all, if they are low yield, how bad can they be? The answer is very! Nuclear war of any type, of any description, would subject this planet and us -its inhabitants - to annihilation. In effect, the ravage of climate change in seconds. With the first use of any nuclear weapon, the door is open to a nuclear counter attack and an escalation that could contaminate our world killing most of its inhabitants.
Most senior battlefield commanders achieved their positions after years of training and seasoning. Given that, it should not be in their range of authority to make the decision to use nuclear weapons with the rationalization that they are “low yield”. Unanswered is the question of how many low yield nuclear weapons and the use of enemy nuclear counter measures it would take to start a nuclear war. Unanswered, but more than enough reason to keep the use of nuclear weapons out of the hands of battlefield commanders.
In 2019, Democrats in Congress recognized the destabilizing effect of low yield nuclear weapons for battlefield use and tried to stop them; they were not successful. Who the opposition was that defeated the Democrats attempt at a common sense rejection of nuclear escalation is not known. Take your choice of generals who defy our constitutionally mandated civilian control of the military, the defense industry that accepts no bounds to its profiteering or a Congressional majority that puts campaign funds before constituent responsibility.
Any fire can be started with a spark. A nuclear war could be started with the rationale that low yield nuclear weapons are just another limited battlefield weapon. Disaster this way comes.