What if during the Watergate Scandal Richard Nixon decide to bomb Hanoi with a nuclear bomb?

Maximilien.

Let's imagine for a moment the following WI.
Watergate scandal. President Richard Nixon knows it's only a matter of time before the impeachment kicks him out of the White House. His circle near sees paranoia and delusions increase in him. And on one of those nights leading up to resignation; Nixon orders Hanoi's atomic bombing and largest air offensive in history of the mankind against North Vietnam —infinitely superior to the operation Linebacker in our TL—. What do you think will happen?
 

Whanztastic

Maximilien. said:
Let's imagine for a moment the following WI.
Watergate scandal. President Richard Nixon knows it's only a matter of time before the impeachment kicks him out of the White House. His circle near sees paranoia and delusions increase in him. And on one of those nights leading up to resignation; Nixon orders Hanoi's atomic bombing and largest air offensive in history of the mankind against North Vietnam —infinitely superior to the operation Linebacker in our TL—. What do you think will happen?
Click to expand...
Like this?
www.businessinsider.com

That time a drunk Richard Nixon tried to nuke North Korea

Kissinger convinced the military to stand down from the order until Nixon was sober.
www.businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com
 

overoceans

At what point is this bombing of Hanoi supposed to be taking place? Nixon ended US involvement in the Vietnam War in January 1973. But "one of those nights leading up to his resignation" makes it sound like we are talking a considerable period of time after that.

How would revisiting that particular conflict, at that particular point in time, and in the most horrifyingly insane way possible, advance Nixon's interests in any way?
 
McPherson

McPherson

Maximilien. said:
Let's imagine for a moment the following WI.
Watergate scandal. President Richard Nixon knows it's only a matter of time before the impeachment kicks him out of the White House. His circle near sees paranoia and delusions increase in him. And on one of those nights leading up to resignation; Nixon orders Hanoi's atomic bombing and largest air offensive in history of the mankind against North Vietnam —infinitely superior to the operation Linebacker in our TL—. What do you think will happen?
Click to expand...

Impeachment followed by criminal prosecution before it gets out to the military. Nixon could even wind up in front of the ICC*, along with whoever was STUPID enough to try to carry out the order, through the chain of responsibility.

*ICC is not the Interstate Commerce Commision. It is the International Criminal Court.
 
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BigBlueBox

Banned
Soviets nuke Thailand or some other US ally in Asia in response. Sino-American reconciliation is permanently cancelled and Sino-Soviet Split is paused.
 

overoceans

This is one of those scenarios where the mere fact that it didn't happen IOTL pretty much proves that it couldn't happen in ANY time-line. Because there is literally nothing you could add to or subtract from our reality that would make the outcome of an unprompted nuking of Hanoi any less of an absolute disaster for all concerned.
 

SandroPertini98

McPherson said:
Impeachment followed by criminal prosecution before it gets out to the military. Nixon could even wind up in front of the ICC*, along with whoever was STUPID enough to try to carry out the order, through the chain of responsibility.

*ICC is not the Interstate Commerce Commision. It is the International Criminal Court.
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I would love seeing Nixon jailed by ICC for his crimes but unfortunately the International Criminal Court was created only in 2002, eight years after Tricky Dicky's death. So Nixon is going to be impeached and jailed at home unless a new "Nurberg Trial" is convened to judge about US crimes in Indochina (as for Bertrand Russell proposal against Johnson), but I can't see US accept this.
 
McPherson

McPherson

SandroPertini98 said:
I would love seeing Nixon jailed by ICC for his crimes but unfortunately the International Criminal Court was created only in 2002, eight years after Tricky Dicky's death. So Nixon is going to be impeached and jailed at home unless a new "Nurberg Trial" is convened to judge about US crimes in Indochina (as for Bertrand Russell proposal against Johnson), but I can't see US accept this.
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The ICC was created for the Yugoslavia mess and clean up. I took liberties, I admit, but I suggest strongly that an ICC would be invented just for this kind of hypothetical ATROCITY in the 1974 timeframe. It would not apply to domestic crimes, but I am convinced the international law nature of the purported hypothetical act would mean the only possible legal venue is an international court.

As for McNamara and his coterie? I can see the case for war crimes fairly easily. Making the case against Johnson is "difficult". His culpability was more a case of letting Kennedy administration policy wonks get completely out of hand and expand a colonialist imperialist war. (MOO.). Still he should have known better. Gulf of Tonkin is on HIM.
 

jmc247

Nixon liked to play mad man and get the Soviets and Chinese who were listening to everything we did to think he might suddenly start dropping nukes. It was a continuation of Ike era tactics which managed to get a cease fire in Korea in part by issuing a credible atomic threat.

In terms of the brushfire wars. Tactical nukes in Vietnam were not totally out of the question for him I believe nor would have tactical or strategic weapons been off the table if NK rolled South.

Nixon believed in a madman strategy, but he wasn't a madman.
 

overoceans

Hattori Saizo II said:
Well, he claims he wasn't a crook. :winkytongue:
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I'm trying to imagine a Checkers speech that would save Nixon's ass in this situation.

"Yeah, the public was pretty concerned about millions of people getting nuked for no reason, but then he started talking about his cute puppy, and they all kinda forgot about it."
 

Dave Howery

BigBlueBox said:
Soviets nuke Thailand or some other US ally in Asia in response.
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Lalli said:
WW3.
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doubtful. This would be a golden opportunity for the USSR to denounce the USA in the UN and just generally around the world. And most of our allies might be joining them. The USSR will never have such a chance to be seen as 'the good guys' ever again... and randomly nuking some other place would squelch that instantly...
 

BigBlueBox

Banned
Dave Howery said:
doubtful. This would be a golden opportunity for the USSR to denounce the USA in the UN and just generally around the world. And most of our allies might be joining them. The USSR will never have such a chance to be seen as 'the good guys' ever again... and randomly nuking some other place would squelch that instantly...
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Terrifying every country allied with the USA or considering an alliance with the realization they can be annihilated in retaliation the next time the USA goes off the deep end is far more useful than harping on about a supposed "moral high ground". It should make many countries reconsider their relationship with the USA.
 
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