Why didn’t the U.S. nuke Vietnam during the Vietnam War?

为什么美国在越南战争期间没有用核武器轰炸越南？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Tim Muston

Author has 5K answers and 1.1M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

The fact that any use of nuclear weapons would inevitably lead to the destruction of all human life on earth might have been a factor.

A more interesting question IMO would be why did the USA get involved in fighting in Vietnam at all.

核武器的使用将不可避免地导致地球上所有人类生命的毁灭，可能这就是原因之一吧。

在我看来，有个问题更有意思，美国到底为什么会卷入越南战争。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Georgette Wolf

Author has 2.1K answers and 2.5M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

It would have been the equivalent of an exterminator burning your house down to get rid of a racoon living in the attic. That certainly wouldn’t have looked good for the image the US was trying to project.

这就好比灭虫员为了除掉阁楼上的一只浣熊，放火烧掉你的房子。这当然对美国试图打造的形象不利。

The Great Viet Country

Answered by

Doan Thanh Tam

Author has 683 answers and 974.1K answer viewsDec 30, 2021

This question really intrigues me, now let break it down.

I too always wonder why the US, not just nukes everyone and claims home victorious and less costly, like Japan for example.

Now the Vietnam War is happening during the cold war which basically just means Red vs Blue. USA VS USSR, so any war that was happening in this time frame is more or less a proxy war or ghost war or in Korea is case full confrontation.

And let us be glad Vietnam was not Korea 2.0

I always believed it was because Vietnam was allied with the USSR meaning the USA more or less can not freely drop Nuke during the Cold War.

这个问题激起了我的兴趣，现在我来详细分析一下。

我也一直想不通，为什么美国不用核武器打击所有国家，就像轰炸日本那样，直接宣告美国获胜，这样成本还更低得多。

越南战争发生在冷战时期，也就是红蓝大战、美苏大战，所以这个时期发生的所有战争都或多或少是代理战争或幽灵战争，或朝鲜战场上的全面对抗。

我们该庆幸越南不是朝鲜第二。

我一直认为这是因为越南是苏联的盟友，所以美国多少有点不敢在冷战期间随心所欲地使用核武器。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Wilhelm Rutger Fridolf

Author has 1.1K answers and 1.5M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

Nuclear weapons were designed to end a protracted war, not to start another very short one.

核武器的设计是为了结束旷日持久的战争，而不是开启另一场短暂的战争。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Scott Nash

Author has 4.5K answers and 938.7K answer viewsDec 20, 2021

Jesus Christ what a question! Because prior to 2017 we never had a president who was a psychopath. Nixon was evil and a cheat…. But he wasn’t a wonton killer.

上帝啊，这是什么鬼问题！因为在2017年之前，我们从未有过精神不正常的总统。尼克松是个邪恶的骗子....但他可不是云吞杀手。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Den Valdron

Author has 7K answers and 2.1M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

Probably a little thing called ‘starting WWIII’

See, thing when you start throwing around Nukes, no one knows what you’re going to do next, and you don’t know what they’re going to do.

Both China and Russia had nuclear weapons. Hit North Vietnam with a nuke or two… well, that’s on the Chinese border.

大概是因为这么做会导致一个小问题：“触发第三次世界大战”。

当你率先使用核武器时，没人知道你下一步会做什么，同样的，你也不知道他们会怎么应对。

中国和俄罗斯都拥有核武器。用一枚或两枚核弹袭击北越，要知道，越南就在中国边境。

A Nuke goes off on his border, maybe he figures that the US ain’t going to stop with just one, and is planning to throw more.

What are his options? If he sits and does nothing, the next one might be in , at which point it’s too late.

American nukes fly, lots of them, heading East. But all those ICBM’s in the air, do the Russians really know, can they really be sure nothing is aiming at them? Russian nukes fly. End of world.

Yeah, that’s not good. Let’s not nuke vietnam.

如果一枚核弹在中国边境爆炸，也许中国会认为美国不会只扔一枚核弹。

中国该什么选择？如果什么都不做，下一枚核弹可能就会落在中国，那就为时晚矣。

美国的核弹很多都飞向了东方。那么俄罗斯人真的弄清楚了？他们敢保证导弹瞄准的不是他们？

World History

Answered by

Corwin 

Author has 4.4K answers and 1.5M answer viewsDec 20, 2021

Because that

a. would have made that part of the world uninhabitable

b. would have escalated the war to the point of a nuclear exchange between the US and China

c. that in turn would have escalated the war to the point that we would have a nuclear exchange between the US , China and the USSR

d. that in turn would have resulted in global nuclear winter and we would all be dead.

因为：

a. 会把地球上的这块区域变成生命禁区

b. 会把战争升级到中美核冲突的地步

c. 反过来还会继续使战争升级到美中苏核冲突的地步

d. 再进一步导致全球核冬天（核武器爆炸引起的全球性气温下降），全体人类集体完蛋。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Francis Vincent 

Author has 6.2K answers and 4M answer viewsDec 24, 2021

Vietnam was a proxy war between the US who supported North Vietnam and China and the Soviet Union who supported South Vietnam. Think of it as a move in a global chess game between superpowers. Neither side wanted Vietnam as a whole to fall to the other side but they also didn't want to do anything that could cause the conflict to escillate into WWIII.

越南战争是支持北越的美国和支持南越的苏联之间的代理战争。你可以把它想象成超级大国们的全球棋局中的一步棋。任何一方都不希望越南整个落入对方的手中，但他们同样也不想因为自己的某些举动让这场冲突演变为第三次世界大战。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Justin Schwartz 

Author has 18.9K answers and 22.7M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

We actually know the answer to this one. In the memoirs of top aides to Johnson and Nixon, They report that both presidents said that they were aware that if they use nuclear weapons in Vietnam, and plans to do so under Nixon in particular had developed pretty far, but anti-Vietnam war demonstrators would pull down the fence around the White House and lynch them. So if you ever wonder whether demonstrating there's any good, it saved the world. For real.

我们其实对这个问题的答案心知肚明。在约翰逊和尼克松的高级助手的回忆录中，两位总统都说，他们知道如果他们在越南使用核武器，尤其是尼克松时期甚至已经做出过详细部署，那么反越战示威者势必会推倒白宫的栅栏，对他们处以私刑。所以如果你好奇示威者有任何作用，瞧，他们拯救了世界。真的。

Bring Back Democracy

Answered by

Robert C. 

Author has 2.1K answers and 5.1M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

A Pentagon study in 1966 concluded that unilateral US use of nukes wouldn't make much of a difference to the Vietnam War effort. It could, however, provoke some very nasty responses from Russia and China. Among other reasons, the mountainous terrain of Vietnam wasn't conducive to effectively irradiating the countryside.

To paraphrase historian Alex Wellerstein, since WWII, the US has had a keen interest in not breaking the “nuclear taboo” of first use because once nukes start becoming normalized, the US stands to lose the most.

1966年五角大楼的一项研究得出的结论是，美国单方面使用核武器不会对越南战争产生太大影响。但可能会引发俄罗斯和中国的极端反应。还有一个原因是，越南多山的地形不利于核辐射。

借用历史学家亚历克斯·韦勒斯坦的话说，自二战以来，美国一直对不率先打破“核禁令”非常感兴趣，因为一旦核武器变成常规武器，美国的损失将会最大。

Edwin Parks

Soldier, counter-terrorism is my expertiseAuthor has 7.8K answers and 9.1M answer viewsUpdated Jan 29

Because they would have lost what ever minimal support they had from every nation on earth.

因为他们将失去地球上每个国家哪怕最小的支持。

Kell Morrow

Lives in Albuquerque, NM (1995–present)Author has 3K answers and 1.1M answer views9mo

In 2016, Donald Trump asked that question during the transition. “If we have them, then why don't we use them?”

The answer is MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction.

During Vietnam, the USSR also had ICBMs and their response would have likely been to hit Western Europe with nuclear weapons and to be safe, hit the USA with more nuclear weapons.

Tell me, OP, How would you have liked it if every large city in the United States had been destroyed in 1968?

Will we ever use them? Only if someone like Putin is stupid or insane enough to fire on us first or if we in the United States elect a president who is stupid or crazy enough to not understand or care about MAD.

2016年，唐纳德·特朗普在政府交接期间就问过这个问题。“既然我们有核弹，为什么不用呢?”

答案是MAD，相互的必然的毁灭。

在越南战争期间，苏联也有洲际弹道导弹，他们对此的反应可能是用核武器打击西欧，而且为了确保万无一失，会用更多的核武器攻打美国。

告诉我，题主，如果美国的所有大城市都在1968年被摧毁，你会开心吗？

我们会启用核武器吗？只有当普京这样的人率先向我们开火，或者美国选出一个愚蠢疯癫到无法理解或对MAD（相互的必然的毁灭）漠不关心的总统，才有可能。

The Great Viet Country

Answered by

Gary Cummings 

Author has 4.8K answers and 2.8M answer viewsDec 21, 2021

The US knew it would become the ethical outcast of the world. There was no pretext for the US to nuke Vietnam.

美国很清楚，自己这么做的话就会沦为世界道德的弃儿。美国没有理由用核武器打击越南。

Tony Bartlett

Former Chief Inspector (Operations) (1970–2003)Author has 17K answers and 47.5M answer views9mo

Because the USSR and China would have nuked the USA.

It's called Mutually Assured Destruction and has kept the world safe since 1945

因为苏联和中国也会用核武器对付美国。

Wes Frank

Masters in American History from Northwestern UniversityAuthor has 9K answers and 53.4M answer views9mo

What purpose would this serve? The United States was in South Vietnam as an ally. Also, American foreign policy since 1945 has been based on preventing nuclear war, not practicing it.

这有什么用呢？美国是南越的盟友。此外，自1945年以来美国的外交政策一直基于防止核战争的发生，而不是启动核战争。

Global Politics

Answered by

JD Hill

Author has 1.8K answers and 215.5K answer viewsDec 27, 2021

Because it would have been the dumbest thing they could have done. Why would you ask such a stupid question. China has already proved they could beat us on the battlefie and both China and The USSR had nukes so it would have been stupid beyond belief.

因为那么做会是最愚蠢的事。你为什么要问这么愚蠢的问题。中国已经证明了他们可以在战场上打败我们，而且中国和苏联都有核武器，所以这是蠢到无以复加的事。

Suchindranath Aiyer

Author has 16.5K answers and 9.6M answer views9mo

(1) Over confidence

(2) To avoid International repercussions (for just one example the signal to China and the Soviet Union that it is OK to use Nuclear Weapons against small non nuclear weapon states)

(1) 太过自信

(2) 担心国际影响不好(举个例子，这么做会向中国和苏联发出信号：可以对小型无核武器国家使用核武器)

Troit Stowe

Author has 636 answers and 42.9K answer views9mo

Two reasons. (1) The bombing campaign was taking its toll on N. Vietnam. Nukes were not needed. (2) Using nukes in the unpopular war, would have caused riots of gigantic proportions. The political backlash would have been horrendous. Politicians are adverse to any thing which might upset their gravy train.

有两个原因。（1）轰炸行动已经给北越造成了极大破坏。没必要动用核武器。（2）在这场不得人心的战争中使用核武器，将引发大规模的骚乱。政治上的反弹会很可怕。政客们会反对有可能坏了他们好事

Global Politics

Answered by

Ron Combs 

Author has 13.3K answers and 1.5M answer viewsDec 20, 2021

Keep in mind, nukes are political tools. Yes, the military maintains, and delivers them, but politicians make the decision. So, they are used as a subtle threat.

记住，核武器是政治工具。是的，军队负责维护和运送核武器，但政客们负责拍板决定。所以，核武器是一种微妙的威胁工具。

Gary Martin

Author has 1.5K answers and 131.6K answer viewsJan 19

Several good reasons. Firstly there’s a little thing called radiation unleashed by atomic and thermonuclear bombs (atomic use U235, thermonuclear both U235 and hydrogen. That radiation sticks around for a long time (think Chernobyl accident) and poisons the land, flora, fauna and people. That nastiness is why nuclear weapons are “no use” weapons. Secondly that radiation not only poisons the target area but is carried downwind hundreds of miles. So you clobber not only the enemy but any countries that might get some wind drift after the fact. What’s downwind from VN? The Philippine Islands and Taiwan. Next it invites nuclear retaliation. Both the Russians and Chinese had tactical nukes they could have lobbed over to South VN and ruined everyones’ day. Get it now?

有几个很不错的理由。首先是原子弹和热核炸弹会释放核辐射(原子使用U235，热核U235和氢气）。核辐射会持续很长一段时间(想想切尔诺贝利事故)，毒害土地、动植物和人类。这就是为什么核武器是“无用的”武器。其次，辐射不仅会毒害目标区域，还会被顺风带到数百英里外的地区。所以，你不仅要打击敌人，还打击所有可能在核弹爆炸后受影响的国家。越南的下风区是哪里？菲律宾群岛和台湾省。再来，还会招致核报复。俄罗斯人和中国人都有战术核武器，他们可以把核弹扔到越南南部，谁都别想活。现在懂了吗？

Tim Holloway

MS in Industrial Arts Education & Mechanical Engineering, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Graduated 1983)Author has 1.6K answers and 2.8M answer viewsJan 26

It’s not like we didn’t want to !!!

I am grateful that cooler heads than mine prevailed.

I think the Ukraine is just saber rattling, A large part of the Ukraine is really mostly Russian speaking, and more closely akin to Russia than the Ukraine. Something like what Poland was to Germany at the start of WWII . The Ukraine is of course the major Russian wheat belt, so food issues are also a big concern. China has had so much flooding, and crop failure, I can’t see how it could launch any sort of aggression if it can’t even feed it’s self.

I think The USA needs to back away from all foreign problems for a while. We are too fragmented ourselves, and we need to get things straightened here at home before we get involved in another foreign war.

又不是因为我们不想

但我很感激，那些头脑冷静的人占了上风。

我认为乌克兰只是在炫耀武力，乌克兰的大部分地区都说俄语，跟乌克兰比起来，这些地区跟俄罗斯更亲近。就像二战之初的波兰之于德国那样。当然了，乌克兰是俄罗斯的主要小麦产区，所以粮食问题也会是一个大问题。中国遭受了多次洪水和农作物歉收，如果连自己都养活不了，我不知道它该如何发动任何形式的侵略。

我认为美国必须暂时远离所有的国际问题。我们自己已经够分裂了，在卷入下一场对外战争之前，必须先把美国国内的事情理顺。

We need to stand down for a decade or so, until all our issues pass.

The world will keep right on turning with out our help.

Let cooler heads relax the situation, and not do stupid shit like I once wanted to do. Wisdom always comes too late, and life is always too short.

我们需要先远离是非，用十来年的时间把我们的问题都解决清楚。

没有美国的帮助，地球照样旋转。

让头脑冷静的人缓解一下局势，别像我似的只想做傻事。生命总是太短暂，到老才明白什么是真正的智慧。