I don't think we would ever do it but image the message to the rest of the World if we sent out ICBM Sub fleet a few miles from the chinese coast and gave the launch order. No way could the chinese respond to a massive submarine nuclear attack. No more threat to our cities and the rest of the World has nothing to fear from China.
Of course billions of Chinese will be dead but we are taking the chance that some fool in China will kill millions of Americans and then we have to kill those billons anyway.
I agree with you in part, but what makes you feel that China could not respond? Just curious. I thought they had a pretty beefy nuclear arsenal themselves.
They are probing us for reaction, and I'm afraid we failed. Now they no we won't do anything.
You're forgetting one thing --
mobile sub launchers. If it's nuked, it'll automatically react by attacking the default target, whatever it may be.
Besides, all of the fallout from the nukes detonated in China will come back to the US in a couple of days (wind only goes Eastward....)