This man should not be allowed near nuclear weapons!

[Jester]

A charismatic leader with a twisted message can bring a nation of conditioned zealots to the mass suicide of total war, and justify the most terrible of atrocities.

Sure, but the USSR was one of those countries - and yet, nuclear deterrence worked just fine against them. Now, they don't believe in an afterlife per se, so maybe that makes some difference.

I'm still betting that, however ruthless the leadership may get, they are unlikely to become genuinely suicidal, especially when faced with the prospect of their entire civilization being purged with nuclear fire.

-Jester