9/11 Goes Nuclear: A Collaborative Timeline

September 12th, 2001: President George W. Bush stands atop a pile of rubble in lower Manhattan, giving a rousing speech in which he vows to "bring whoever destroyed these buildings to justice, one way or another in this lifetime." The speech receives immensely positive reviews and Bush's approval rating jumps to 86%.

September 15th, 2001: President Bush declares the now infamous "War on Terror", vowing to destroy the organizations responsible for 9/11.

September 19th, 2001: Amid careful deliberation with his board of advisers, President Bush decides that instead of a ground invasion in Afghanistan, the United States will deploy two nuclear missiles into the country, believing it'll be less deadly than a lengthy war.

September 22nd, 2001: President Bush gives a televised address to the nation in which he states that: "We will do what is necessary to promote peace, even if we have to take some drastic measures. As such, this missile launch into Afghanistan is justified and our best choice for preserving the ideals we hold dear."

September 25th, 2001: Two nuclear missiles are launched into Afghanistan, obliterating the city of Kabul in a cloud of nuclear smoke and killing hundreds of thousands of people, including Al-Qaeda member Osama Bin Laden.

9/11 GOES NUCLEAR: A COLLABORATIVE TIMELINE BY THEGUYWHOHEARTSHISTORY
 
Last edited:

nbcman

Donor
Were there 'millions' living in Kabul in 2001? According to Wiki, the population dropped in the 1990s but increased by four fold from 2001 to 2014. Since the current population is estimated to be about 3.7 million, there were definitely less than a million residents of Kabul in 2001.

EDIT: According to Nukemap, a 1 MT device would kill about 1/5 of the current residents and injure another 1/3. So total casualties in 2001 from a two device 1 MT attack would probably be around 60-80% of the population.
 
Last edited:
September 26th 2001: Anti-American protests are held in Moscow, Thehran and Beijing. An emergency session of the security council is being held in New York.
September 29th 2001: President Bush addresses the nation to explain why he used nukes. In the meanwhile new threats are made by Al-Qaida among others an attack on Pope John Paul II
September 30th 2001: Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi warns not to attack the Vatican. Should such an attack take place Italy would retalliate by attacking Mecca. Causing outrage in the muslim world
 
Last edited:
IOTL, President Bush was reasonable rational if George W. Bush was more impulsive a nuclear strike was possible after 9/11.

Give this TL a chance.
 

SsgtC

Banned
Except bin Laden was turned into radioactive dust 4 days prior

September 29th 2001: President Bush addresses the nation to explain why he used nukes. In the meanwhile new threats are made by Osama Bin Laden among others an attack on Pope John Paul II
 
October 7th 2001: George Bush is interviewed on Good Morning America (ABC), This Morning (CBS), Today (NBC), American Morning (CNN) and Fox & Friends (FNC) On Fox & Friends Bush admitted that he had moral problems with nuking Kabul and eventough he knew it was needed. His hart bled for the "poor innocent folks in Afghanistan". Later that day Bush declares the day before Thanksgiving a day of prayer and repentance.
 
IOTL, President Bush was reasonable rational if George W. Bush was more impulsive a nuclear strike was possible after 9/11.

Give this TL a chance.
I guess that settles it, we'll just say he's more impulsive. What? You want a reason why? Well too bad!:rolleyes:
 
This timeline results in the USA being seen as the villains. At least in the wars they engaged in, they were trying to avoid civilian casualties, that cannot be your excuse when you use nukes. You have to say 'we are going to kill innocent civilians but it's worth it'.
 
October 8, 2001: President Bush sees a Washington D.C. neurologist, complaining of headaches and slurred speech. A CT scan reveals a tumor in the frontal lobe of his brain.
 
So did he reroute a minuteman, or use a tactical device?

Also, wouldn't the two man rule apply, so SECDEF would have to verify? I mean, I'm no fan of Rummy, but I'm assuming he'd refuse and be fired until this deranged version of Bush found someone.
 
Bush decided to make the missile launch an executive order, since one, he wasn't in the right frame of mind due to his tumor and two, he thought it was necessary to go right to annihilation of Afghanistan without input from his advisers.
 
October 21, 2001: Unbeknown to the public President Bush is undergoing surgery to have his tumor removed. Meanwhile Al-Qaida stages an attack on Pope John Paul II whilst he is visiting Naples. During the attack 70 people were killed and the Pope got seriously hurt. In a speech on Italian TV Berlusconi vows revenge and threatens to bomb Mecca to kingdom come. In Washington DC the press are asking questions why the president is not reacting to the attack in Naples.

Later that night CNN revealed that President Bush was hospital.

October 22, 2001: Stockmarkets all over the world are in a freefall after the news that President Bush is seriously ill in hospital. In Europe and the US trade is suspended. Later that day Pope John Paul II succombs to his injury.
 

nbcman

Donor
That could be a good Freudian Excuse for his bizarre reasoning for nuking Afghanistan.
It would be more likely that the impaired President Bush would give the order resulting in everyone in earshot would invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment as opposed to someone confirming the President's order to launch.
 
Top