HMS Heligoland POD 1945 :

[Father Maryland]

I know this is a tad Old but since the threads author redirected it I figure I'd give it a shot. Love the original thread and this one but one event in particular bugs me. Namely how mild the reaction to the twin tower attacks is. Nearly ten times as many Americans and foreigners died in the otl attacks. Simply put the result of said attack is going to make otl look lIke an anti war protest.

The mildest example I can think of is in the possibility of a tora bora happening the us will respond with tactical nukes not combat troops.

I mean remember all the vitriol and hatred that came out after otl 9/11 and now imagine it magnified at least ten fold. And with nearly 50k dead I think even with much harsher ROE I think it'd be much easier to make it a truly international affair.

 

[corditeman]

Mine is Clancy's Defence...

...'If it had been fiction, my publishers would have rejected it as too far fetched'.

The US is not, I fear, as hard-nosed as the UK. ANY WMD used against a British target is regarded, by policy definition, as a nuke.

 

[Father Maryland]

...'If it had been fiction, my publishers would have rejected it as too far fetched'.

The US is not, I fear, as hard-nosed as the UK. ANY WMD used against a British target is regarded, by policy definition, as a nuke.

I don't see the us as being particularly mild about using nukes. Amongst other things the US maintains a policy of responding in kind to WMD attacks. Originally it meant If you used the plague on us troops we'd use aerosolized small pox. If you dumped phosphene or mustard gas we respond with a few rounds of 155mm delibe red vx. And of course If you nuked us troops a new dawn would appear somewhere in your territory. Of course we ditched gas and germs so now if we get hit by anything non conventional it's straight to instant sunshine.

 

[corditeman]

Well, we'll see...

...Cruise missiles and MOAB, agreed, possibly FAE, but remember that other countries might see a tac nuke as a nuke by any other name. Herman Kahn argued for a measured response. If Tora Bora became a radioactive crater, what would countries downwind say once the fallout arrived? 'Collateral damage' is not acceptable, otherwise MacArthur would have reached the Yalu River. Hanoi Harbour and certain bridges would have been the end of the Vietnam War. In other words, military capability is not the same as political will; I draw your attention to the end of the war in Algeria for France and the disastrous decision by John Major not to support the French initiative to break Iraq in the First Gulf War. The lack of political will is a problem for all countries. Here endeth the gung-ho message...