The theory is that the US has committed to ruining things for everyone if bad things happen to them. Otherwise, hostile countries would have an incentive to cre

The theory is that the US has committed to ruining things for everyone if bad things happen to them. Otherwise, hostile countries would have an incentive to create false flag attacks, or to incite an enemy to attack in truth. But if Iran knows that North Korea nuking DC means that they get nuked too (along with essentially everyone else on the planet), there's less incentive to make it happen. Same goes for Russia/China - wouldn't either of them 'love' a world where the US got in a nuclear exchange with the other? No more competition!