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Originally Posted by chronoserpent This doesn't seem all that unusual to me. I'm sure we have strategic plans to use nuclear weapons against any country deemed a potential threat, just in case. This plan looks like it was just a contingency plan which never had a chance of being really enacted, seeing as how quickly it was shot down. |
I bet there are plans for invading Canada collecting dust in a room deep in the bowels of the Pentagon, it's a great way to keep young staff officers busy and their skills sharp. Plus it never hurts to be prepared for any situation regardless of how remote the likelihood of needing the plans are. Look at Myanmar, because we had a military presence in the area just in case we were ready to fly in supplies immediately, of course the government of that nation was not ready to receive supplies till.... 9 or 11 days? after the cyclone hit.
But I will reiterate what other have already said, the Air Force was desperate to prove the viability of tactical nuclear weapons during that period, mostly because they had the market cornered, to increase spending on such weapons. Not that the United States didn't waste enough money on nukes already.