Someone told me once the number of nuclear weapons which it was calculated, would be enough to “kill” the USA. The number had apparently been derived from a Cold War study by a think tank. I’ve no idea whether the number is real or whether the person was pulling my leg. However it is a surprisingly large number.

Considering the damage Japan (which is a far smaller country) took; and the proportion of casualties to the population that Russia endured (largely self inflicted) during the Second World War the large number has a ring of truth to it. Any enemy who strikes America with a handful of bombs will kill millions, but that will not physically prevent whoever is POTUS from facing the biggest moral problem of all time. What to do in response.

The case for annihilating the source of a nuclear attack on America or the West would rest on the idea of deterring its repetition. The case against it would rely on the fact that the response can be far, far more destructive than the attack itself. Over the next four years, during Barack Obama’s watch, it is unlikely that a non-Russian nuclear missile can reach the USA, but it is not impossible for a container bomb to attack to materialize. We live in interesting times.