David Nicholls wrote:

snip If Saddam Hussein had
detonated a test nuclear device in the Iraqi desert 2 weeks after invading
Kuwait in 1990 there would have been a diplomatic solution - no US president
would risk the threat of a nuclear strike on US troops or the US mainland
(delivered by container ship?).

I think Israel would have had no compunction and would have wasted no
time in pre-empting any Iraqi action by any means they thought
necessary, just as they had when they hit the reactor construction at
Osiraq in 1981. There would have been no coalition that included other
Arab states, but Iraq would likely have withdrawn from Kuwait.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)