Why tactical nuclear use still crosses the nuclear threshold

Using a nuclear weapon exposes the attacker to nuclear retaliation. The panel rejects the idea that calling a nuclear weapon tactical makes its effects meaningfully limited, comparing weapons described as tactical with the yields used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. One proposed way to understand the distinction is through the level of command permitted to authorise use. That suggestion is explicitly qualified as an explanatory comparison, rather than the historical origin of the terminology.