Do you think we dont use nuclear in war because...?

Question

... the truth that in any war, in any conflicts, it always only include small amount group of peoples?

Say,
War is only involve the military and the governments?

One country maybe have small groups of people wants to kill all the people in another country?

Say maybe in 1 country it has some people want to destroy another country, but the truth they don't want kill them?


10 pts. for good or detailed or extensive answer.

Answer 1

your premise is wrong. war has not traditionally excluded civilian deaths. wars are usually won by killing the population, not the military. WW2 ended by killing 250,000 civilians by dropping 2 atomic bombs and fire bombing civilian centers.

Answer 2

We don't use nuclear weapons in Iraq because the enemy is too small a group to use nuclear bombs on. The government and military of Iraq is nominally our ally. Same with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Other times, nuclear weapons are not used, because the other side also has them. This causes minor incidents to settle down, rather than build up to war. World War I stared after the assassination of someone in Yugoslavia, and the US got into World War I after the Germans sunk the Lusitania. But the US did not go to war when the Russians shot down KAL 007. Back to the war on terror and your last question. Are you saying the US wants to "destroy" iraq, but does not want to kill all the people there? True, the aim was to topple the government and liberate the people, not kill them. Or are you implying the US doesn't really want to kill the terrorists? Maybe they are a useful propaganda enemy, like the "leader" of the proles in 1984 or Count Dooku in Star Wars, so there is no real effort to kill them.

Answer 3

Nuclear weapons can be as small as one or two kiloton - maybe even smaller. A bomb that size wouldn't even destroy a whole city, or even a large town. The actual bomb damage might measure in blocks, not miles. The US arsenal includes (or, did include, at one time) such "tactical" nukes. But conventional bombs can also serve the same purpose as these "mini-nukes."

They are not used because the costs outweigh the benefits. The costs include the lingering radiation, the worldwide public reaction and the risk that using them would lead to more uses, either in that conflict or a future one. Some say these fears have even prevented another wold war from breaking out.

When and if there IS a large-scale war between superpowers, though, all bets are off.

Answer 4

Why do nukes sit around unused? They are horrible weapons designed to level a city, and the people who control the weapons understand the mutually assured destruction concept (if we attack, we will also be attacked, and everyone dies).

You have sorta touched on another reason that people who don't understand politics or history don't get. War is rarely about destroying the enemy. It is about forcing the enemy to adopt the policy you want them to adopt--whether that be stop abusing your citizens or give us your resources or land, the goal is almost never to kill every last one of them--and that's what nukes do!

Since nukes historically have been used against civilians and you would expect that most military targets would have a great deal of collateral damage if they were hit with a nuke, it is a less moral form of war. Whether there should be rules and rights for people in combat is a wild debate, but if, for instance, the US decided to nuke the middle east, we'd lose the moral upper-hand, as we'd no longer be able to call folks like the 9-11 terrorists evil if we are doing the exact same thing on a larger scale.

Answer 5

Ever seen the '80s movie "War Games". A good fictional work by "Hollweird". The concept is, IF someone launches an attack by Nuclear means- everyone will. This is probably the cause of International stir when someone pushes for or test detonates a Nuclear Weapon.

Answer 6

A nuclear bomb is a gift that keeps on giving. Most people think that the bomb levels buildings and vaporizes the victims, the the evil truth is that many outside of ground zero die painful deaths that could take weeks or months of suffering. I'm talking people with most of their skin burned off. Dead animals rot and poison the land and water. Babies are born deformed and suffering. The United States has been dealing with the suffering of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to this day. Its just too terrible of a weapon to use. Most people cannot even imagine the true devastation. It effects generations.

Answer 7

I think we don't because there is little to gain from nuclear weapons. They could cause the destruction of the whole earth, and whoever is for using them should die. If one country uses them, other countries will feel compelled to use them. Nuclear weapons will become a source of trade & people will get rich through that. Next thing we know, nuclear weapons are launched every few hours and human kind is no more.

Answer 8

We don't use nuclear war tactics because it's counter-productive. Imagine there's a school yard bully who comes to school with a squirt gun just to harass kids. So some of you come to school with water balloons to combat the bully. Then he comes to school with a super-soaker to 'get even' with those of you who brought water balloons. It's a never-ending spiral that only escalates into more 'war', more battles, and more casualties.
One reason America is so despised right now is because George W. Bush has initiated an unconstitutional, illegal, unjustifiable, immoral 'war' against another sovereign nation that in no way threatened, provoked or attacked the United States. Other countries feel intimidate by the bully Bush, and feel the only way they can protect themselves is to develop their own 'weapons of mass destruction' and stockpile nuclear armaments.
So far, our country's leaders have been responsible by refusing to use nuclear weapons in any conflict. Of course, it's only a matter of time before the U.S.A. elects an insane madman (such as Stalin, Hitler, Amin, Hussein or Bush) who will order the use of nuclear weapons, which will be the beginning of the end of civilization as we know it here on Earth. -RKO- 08/09/07

Answer 9

I think nuclear arms are avoided in war because they are hideous weapons to unleash. They contaminate areas with extreme radiation poisoning. They vaporize innocent life. I understand and support their use in WW2, we were somewhat backed against a corner, but now it would be a purely bully-ish move on America's part to be unleashing atomic weapons. The entire world would criticize us for that.

Answer 10

Or its because we avoided a nuclear war for 40+ years and launching any now would probably trigger one.