In theory, it makes some sense to not eliminate the option of using nuclear weapons whenever the possibility of actual armed conflict exists. In practice, it makes no sense to openly and deliberately admit that nuclear attacks are an option. Except in the most extreme and dire circumstances, serious contemplation of the use of nuclear weapons is limited to the incompetent and the insane.

That, however, appears to be precisely what’s occurring in the administration of George W. Bush: serious planning on the use of nuclear weapons against Iran. We’re not talking about hypothetical contingencies for extreme and unlikely circumstances (which we should expect military planners to have), but realistic plans for using nuclear weapons in order to eliminate Iran’s possible development of nuclear weapons.

The presidency of George W. Bush is often compared to that of Richard M. Nixon, but whereas Nixon recognized that only a madman would threaten to use nuclear weapons, Bush appears to be serious. John Morrocco writes in The Vietnam Experience: Rain of Fire about the attempt by President Nixon to force a diplomatic resolution to the Vietnam War by creating an image of a madman willing to use nuclear weapons:

To underscore further his determination to achieve a favorable negotiated settlement, President Nixon resorted to military threats and pressure to convince the Hanoi government and its allies that he was serious. Although the same strategy had been unsuccessfully employed by President Johnson, Nixon believed the persuasive power of military force had failed before because Johnson had employed it in a limited and indecisive manner.

He would follow the example of President Eisenhower, who brought a successful conclusion to the Korean conflict by hinting at if the Communists did not negotiate in good faith he would resort to “massive retaliation.”

Of course, “successful conclusion” here simply means that large-scale, open warfare ceased — and only through a cease-fire, not an actual truce or peace treaty. That’s the most successful example of threatening to use nuclear weapons against an enemy, and it’s not much of a success to rely upon. It didn’t work for Nixon, obviously, do why does George W. Bush think it will work for him? That’s assuming, of course, that he’s only hinting at plans for using nuclear weapons in order to scare Iran into meeting this demands. What if this isn’t a scare tactic and, instead, represents his genuine intentions?

He told presidential adviser H. R. Haldeman that he wanted the North Vietnamese to believe he had reached the point where he might do anything to stop the war. “We’ll just slip the word to them that, ‘for God’s sake, you know Nixon’s obsessed about Communism. We can’t restrain him when he’s angry — and he has his hand on the nuclear button.’ — and Ho Chi Minh himself will be in Paris in two days begging for peace,” Nixon explained to Haldeman.

‘This “madman theory,” as Nixon liked to call it, was to be tempered by his aggressive efforts to undermine Hanoi’s external support. While Johnson kept the possibility of a wider war with the Soviet Union or China to a minimum by carefully limiting U.S. military actions in Vietnam, Nixon believed he could do so through diplomacy.

So, it looks like Richard M. Nixon would call a person who would use nuclear weapons in a situation like Vietnam a “madman.” At least Vietnam was engaged in an armed conflict with America, killing American troops. Neither applies to Iran, so if George W. Bush is seriously contemplating the use of nuclear weapons there, then he’s even more of a madman than Nixon was only pretending to be in order to get out of a war.

 

Read More:

• Godless Liberalism
• Godless Political Notes
• Godless Constitution
• War and Morality
• War on Terrorism