Nuclear War: Go Ahead Justify It

Oberon · 05-28-11, 05:40 AM

[McCarthy] Nuclear war is the only justifiable option in dealing with the threat of international communism! [/McCarthy]

In all seriousness though, tactical nuclear warfare is perhaps an option in a extreme environment, for example during a Soviet overrun of West Germany and France. I believe there was a particular line past which if overrun would prompt the use of tactical nukes, and I think that the West German government would be clamouring for something to stop the Soviet advance if they crossed the Rhine.
Also, the warplan 'Seven days to the River Rhine' called for widespread first use of tactical nuclear weapons to destroy airbases after a NATO nuclear first strike.
The beautiful (and scary) part of the Cold War is that both sides spent most of it under the impression that the other side would launch a first strike, which meant that neither side actually did, although they came close on several occasions.

Of course, the problem with tactical nuclear warfare is that eventually one warhead is going to land near a city, since a lot of airfields and bases are near populated areas, which means that a city on the other side would receive a nuke in retaliation...and then it's the bombing campaign of the Luftwaffe and RAF all over again but with nuclear weapons.

There can be no moral justification for the use of nuclear weapons, just as there can be no real moral justification for the use of violence. There are plenty of strategic and tactical justifications for the use of nuclear weapons, chief among which is retaliation. Once upon a time the fear of MAD stopped the need for retaliation. However in the age of fanatics and radicalism...I'm not so sure that fear of MAD is still around in some nations.

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05-28-11, 05:40 AM	#7
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	[McCarthy] Nuclear war is the only justifiable option in dealing with the threat of international communism! [/McCarthy] In all seriousness though, tactical nuclear warfare is perhaps an option in a extreme environment, for example during a Soviet overrun of West Germany and France. I believe there was a particular line past which if overrun would prompt the use of tactical nukes, and I think that the West German government would be clamouring for something to stop the Soviet advance if they crossed the Rhine. Also, the warplan 'Seven days to the River Rhine' called for widespread first use of tactical nuclear weapons to destroy airbases after a NATO nuclear first strike. The beautiful (and scary) part of the Cold War is that both sides spent most of it under the impression that the other side would launch a first strike, which meant that neither side actually did, although they came close on several occasions. Of course, the problem with tactical nuclear warfare is that eventually one warhead is going to land near a city, since a lot of airfields and bases are near populated areas, which means that a city on the other side would receive a nuke in retaliation...and then it's the bombing campaign of the Luftwaffe and RAF all over again but with nuclear weapons. There can be no moral justification for the use of nuclear weapons, just as there can be no real moral justification for the use of violence. There are plenty of strategic and tactical justifications for the use of nuclear weapons, chief among which is retaliation. Once upon a time the fear of MAD stopped the need for retaliation. However in the age of fanatics and radicalism...I'm not so sure that fear of MAD is still around in some nations.