Q: How will a medium sized nuclear war happen?
A: Israel is attacked with at least one nuclear missile, and retaliates not just against the offending country, but a group of others, all of whom at one point or another threatened to destroy Israel. Israel has at least 200 nuclear weapons.
Q: Why should the US care?
A: Because of a fluke in planetary weather, the jet stream has a downdraft right over the middle of America. A medium sized nuclear exchange in the Middle East will contaminate much of America’s breadbasket.
Q: Why should the US participate in keeping a war non nuclear?
A: Because Israel is *not* Iran’s primary goal. Its primary goal is to persuade or induce the United States to leave the Middle East for good. This is because Iran believe it would become the dominant regional power. Many in Iran think that without US support, Israel will just quickly wither away. Some in Iran even hold to the fantasy of creating a “Shiite Crescent”, from Pakistan to Lebanon.
For this reason, once Iran has nuclear missiles, US aircraft carrier groups are their primary target.
Sounds like a scenario for the USA to take its final bow and leave the world’s stage.