Americans Back Use of Nuclear Weapons

September 2014:  Obama makes moves to expand nuclear potency, after vowing to reduce.

April 2013:  Interesting piece here at Pacific Standard on new study finding that Americans are all-too-willing to back a U.S. nuclear attack--a first-strike--to counter a foreign threat, as outlined in five separate scenarios.  In one of them, about 4 in 10 back a nuke attack that would produce the loss of 25,000 civilian lives vs. a conventional attack might also work and only kill 100.  It's too much to summarize here, so read the piece, but let me add: This doesn't surprise me.  Polls in the past have asked similar questions and brought, usually, similar results. 

And that's why I have continued to write about the atomic attacks on Japan for over 30 years now, in hundreds of articles and two books.  Since 1945 we have drawn a line against using the horror weapons--in the sand.  The message of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is not "never again" but--these weapons can be used, and defended, by officials, the media, historians and one president after another.  This is enough to motivate me to stay on this subject.  Trailer for my recent book: