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- Two Atlantic Council papers on a Taiwan war suggested the US plan for nuclear strikes on China.
- They were met with backlash from some nuclear scholars, who worry such rhetoric only provokes Beijing.
- Their debate underscores a shift among leading thinkers toward a more aggressive nuclear posture.
Sipping coffee on a winter break morning, David Kearn of St. John's University scanned through his day's list of memos and reports when a new paper caught his eye.
"The role of nuclear weapons in a Taiwan crisis," read its title.