“by everyone believing they cannot happen” was the qualifier on the statement about war I was replying to, nobody is shocked by proxy wars and local conflicts.

“by everyone believing they cannot happen” was the qualifier on the statement about war I was replying to, nobody is shocked by proxy wars and local conflicts. It’s how humans have acted as long as we have history and probably before. Most people believed direct conflict with the USSR by the US cannot happen due to the nuclear weapon risk, and it didn’t. Since the end of WWII, no nuclear powers have been in a war directly with each other. I agree with you that someone will eventually use nukes in anger, I’m really surprised it hasn’t happened yet, actually.