"Do you know youngling, what the humans secret weapon is?" The younger officer was not happy being talked down to like this. But he would humor his older counterpart, for now.
"Secret weapon, nooo I don't know anything about that." He responded while trying to keep a straight face.
"Its nukes!" Of course its nukes, everyone knows its nukes. Humans have even earned the nickname Nukers. By far the worst kept military secret in the galaxy is that the humans have nukes.
"You don't say."
"Ha, I know you'r laughing at me behind that polite exterior," said the slightly clueless older officer. "But tell me this; the Alankis had nukes, the Betliers had nukes, the Mrovror had nukes, every single opponent they have ever faced had nukes. Why did they come out on top?"
"No hesitation to use them." The question practically answered itself. They had always deployed a copious amount of nukes in their conflicts.
"The opposite in fact," came the answer from his now smug looking senior. "Its precisely that they do that makes them so dangerous, a quirk of their minds you might say."
"Really? The people that rained down nukes onto Alankis planets, until they were like glass. Did so because they where so hesitant to use them?"
"Oh you might think me a fool, but tell me this; What happened before that?"
First nukes and now elemental history. "The Alankis launched a surprise attack and destroyed one of their coloni-"
"Not destroyed, slaughtered."
"What difference does it make, dead is dead?"
"That's because you're not thinking like a human, to them death is not death."
"You're saying they sometimes survive dying?" Although that would explain a lot of things he heard about them.
"Haha, no of course not. Well, they are remarkable resilient so it can sometimes seem so. But I assure you, dead humans stay dead."
"Then what?"
"Humans minds see difference in these things. To them a reason is needed, before raining down nukes on their enemies. But once they have found one. They do not, as you pointed out, remained filled with hesitation."
So the infamous murderous war hungry humans, where people with deep ethical dilemmas? Yes clearly, why else would you build millions of them. "And the stockpiles are there just to practice these ethical dilemmas then?"
"Of course not, they exists to deter their opponents from doing anything they would consider to be unethical."
"Like attacking them?"
"Yes, like attacking them. Although their range of use will vary depending on how the opponent acts. Only the Alankis planets where glassed, after a lengthy war as well. They have never done anything like that since."
"Hardly a guarantee."
"No, no guarantee at all."
"Then why not strike first as suggested by the war command?"
"War command is a foolish bunch of idiots. They would rather kill us all, than admit to a mistake. Have you not listened to a word I have said? They have always come out on top in any nuclear exchange. To invite them to use a weapon they are the masters of is stupid beyond belief."
"But with the coalition we are stronger, more numerous and even smarter than them. How can we lose?"
"How can we LOSE? How can we WIN? The Alankis were many and with more worlds than any one else, the humans used nukes. The Betliers had the strongest fleet in the galaxy, the humans used nukes. The Mrovror had the greatest strategists ever to be seen, the humans used nukes."
"Then just use a copious amount nukes against them, as suggested."
"Do you think the humans know nothing about how to counter their own strategies? Every single opponent have tried to use nukes against them. Alankies tried glassing their worlds, Betliers tried nuking their fleets and Mrovrors tried everything under the sun and above it. Nothing. Some strikes here and there succeeded. Do I need to remind you what happened when they 'succeeded'? Humans escalated their usage of the weapon to another level, and I do not think we have seen what they are truly capable of yet."
"Not seen what they are capable of? We have only seen what they are capable of! Better stop them now before its to late." At that he stormed off before the clearly cuckoo old officer could get him any more riled up. Right before the vote to strike against the humans was not the time. He was clearly on the losing side if he was reduced to acting like this.