US planned to nuke China in 1958

[OhioChick]

Source: Times of India

1 May 2008, 0028 hrs IST

WASHINGTON: The United States Air Force had considered a plan to drop nuclear bombs on China during a confrontation over Taiwan in 1958 but it was overruled, declassified documents showed on Wednesday.

When he learned about it, President Dwight Eisenhower instead required the air force to initially use conventional bombs against Chinese forces if the crisis escalated, according to previously secret US air force history.

The president's instructions seemingly astounded the air force top brass but the author of one of the studies released said policymakers recognized that atomic strikes had "inherent disadvantages" because of the fall-out danger in the region as well as the risk of nuclear escalation.

The report on the crisis by Bernard Nalty, a then historian with the air force, included significant detail on nuclear planning, including an initial plan to drop 10-15 kiloton bombs on airfields in Amoy (now called Xiamen) in the event of a Chinese blockade against Taiwan's so-called Offshore Islands.


Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US_planned_to_nuke_China_in_1958/articleshow/2999786.cms