Do nuclear weapons keep us safe?

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that creates enormous destructive force from a nuclear reaction – either the splitting of atoms (fission bomb), or a combination of splitting and fusing of atoms (thermonuclear bomb).

One side says:
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  • Nukes are useless against terrorists.

    Say Al-Qaeda got a hold of a bomb and used it against us. What civilian population would we nuke?

  • Nukes are not a useful deterrent against fanatics.

    The idea of deterrence fails completely in the case of a suicide bomber, or a fanatical state. They don't care about the consequences to themselves.

  • Nukes aren't needed even against nuclear states.

    Imagine that Iran or North Korea actually used a nuclear weapon. We could easily obliterate Teheran or Pyongyang with conventional carpet-bombing.

  • Conservative statesmen have recognized that nukes make us less safe.

    George Shultz, Henry Kissinger, and Ronald Reagan have all argued for the gradual elimination of all nuclear weapons.

  • Nuclear exchanges can cause nuclear winters.

    If India and Pakistan had a nuclear exchange, this could cause enough soot to reach the atmosphere to block sunlight and interrupt the food chain for the whole planet.

  • Our nukes encourage others to get them.

    Iran wouldn't push for nukes if the US and Israel didn't have them. And if we didn't have them, we could easily make sure they didn't either.

  • Weak states with nukes are a scary prospect.

    We'll be sorry we didn't push harder to end the nuclear era if Pakistan ever falls to the Taliban – or if terrorists steal or buy nukes from Pakistan's army.

  • Nuclear weapons are designed to kill civilians.

    They can't be targeted against military installations because their impact zone is too big. Killing civilians with weapons of mass destruction is a crime against humanity.

  • 10 Horrifying Facts About Nuclear Weapons, by Alltime10s
  • Cruel Bombs, by Vsauce

The other side says:
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  • Nuclear weapons preserve peace.

    We haven't had a world war since the introduction of nuclear weapons. This is because of deterrence – every country is kept in line by the idea of "mutual assured destruction."

  • The cold war might be coming back.

    Russia and China both have been more aggressive of late. This is a bad time to be thinking about getting rid of our nuclear defense.

  • Nukes are the most powerful weapon there is.

    Why would we give up the one most powerful weapon in our arsenal?

  • Somebody will always have nukes, so we should too.

    It would be suicide and irresponsible to assume that we can get rid of all nukes, so let's not pretend that we can.

  • We might not be able to win a non-nuclear war.

    China has far more manpower than we do. Russia might be crazier than we are. Nuclear weapons allow us to maintain our dominance, because of our superiority in technology.

  • Robert McNamara on the Effectiveness of Nuclear Deterrence, by FORA.tv