Seriously...What would happen if a nuke went off in DC?

...Or any other American city for that matter? With so many terrorist threats coming from all sides here lately, and Putin on the loose, I raise the question for some well thought out answers... Not just cute, one liner jokes in return.

Scenario: ISIS finds a way somehow, maybe through Mexico and our nice open, porous border- to get a small nuke, say 30 KT yield or so, and smuggles it into DC- right when Congress is in session. It goes off and takes out most of our lawmakers with it, and kills say 100,000 people. NSPD-51 goes into effect? Martial law immediately? All of Mecca nuked? What will be the retribution for such an atrocity? Do you think Obama would still not see ISIS as a threat? (haha).

I just wonder if life as we knew it would be forever changed. I wonder how far the government would go in this case to further snatch any remnants of liberty in this country. Would they try to lock down the internet? And how would the states deal with extended, months long curfews and such during a martial law scenario? Lots of people would lose their jobs. When I really get to thinking about it, it seems something like that could tear this country apart at the seams in the longer term of just a year or less, due to the rippling effects it would have.

And the average American clamoring for blood and revenge would be deafening. If that nuke was traced to Pakistan, for instance, do you think they'd seriously level that country? Would they finally bomb Saudi Arabia , and oil be damned? I mean there are so many things that could happen in a case like this, it is scary to think about. How would Russia react to the US using tactical nukes- or even- strategic nukes on Syria in revenge?

I mean seriously folks, if something like that happened, it really COULD trigger WW3. And I believe those radical extremists aren't going to stop until they bring literal hell upon themselves by doing something exactly like this. It could happen. In our lifetimes.

ETA: Also, it would be interesting to get a military perspective on this from someone enlisted.

Obama would apologize, and blame Christians.

But seriously, if a nuke went off in an American city, the response by the US military would be out of Obama's hands. Somebody would get one in return, just as soon as it's determined where it came from.

originally posted by: loki41872
Obama would apologize, and blame Christians.

mature debate If I've ever heard it!


I think the entire continental US would shut down, the US president would ask for calm as they investigate the situation. Certain security and defense protocols would be immediately put into place with military aircraft seen all over the skies, major cities and important economic hubs evacuated and placed under security.

You'd get an outpouring of emotion, solidarity and togetherness from other nations around the world and you'd of course get the same half dozen crackpot leaders calling for a great day and cheering in the streets, aka North Korea.

I don't think you'd immediately have missiles being lobbed all over the planet because the people in charge aren't psychopathic nut jobs like some people in society are.

The world would definitely change for ever and it would get bad before it got better. Would a war occur? depends who, how and why it was set off. But you'd have the same crackpots coming out of the wood work blaming politicians because that's as far as their brains can compute.

originally posted by: loki41872
...the response by the US military would be out of Obama's hands. Somebody would get one in return, just as soon as it's determined where it came from.

So are you saying you think the US military would act unilaterally without Obama's command? Even if he commanded that they didn't? You know, that actually brings about an interesting point.

Things would finally get done without an inept govts' obstruction.

The attack would be classified as " workplace violence. "

a reply to: TrueAmerican

America would become the most bada$$ country in the world. Spygames, surveillance, tech, weapons, bio-everything, space...all in overdrive. Of course, individual liberties would take a backseat, but America would roar awake and reclaim humanity. War, sure. End wars before they begin, yep. Mars? Oh hell yes...how about Alpha Centari. Oil? Yep, but check it out, everything and anything would be fair game, no limits. Death? Yep. People living to be 150? Why not?!

Or we all die horribly of war, famine, disease, pestulance...straight up Hell.

Or maybe nothing really changes. Maybe we just take it on the chin, like we had it coming. Sure, we may beat the war drum, kick up some sand, and penalize people, but that is not new. So if we are voting, what would everyone choose?

Seriously? I say door #1. Rock and Roll America.

Massive depression , starvation, disease, illness and death, for hundreds and thousands of years
Can't even imagine it happening.

I would imagine there are preexisting protocols already in place for such an event.
The U.S. response would be quick and massive.
It's conceivable that secret U.S. weapons would be unleashed that are probably 75-100 years technologically ahead of what the rest of the world has now.

a reply to: TrueAmerican "What would happen if a nuke went off in D.C."
Iconic buildings representing the founding fathers belief systems leveled. Many innocents (tourists and statesmen) murdered by a device that cannot reason (its only function is to successfully detonate on target; directed by OTHERS). An armed missile cannot reason, question should be "WHO orchestrated the launch of a 'nuke' at Washington D.C."

a reply to: IAMTAT

Or we would be pretty damn fast. Agreed.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

A decent thread about a terrible day, TA. F&S anyway.

I believe if DC caught the Big One the continuity plan
would kick in, with no significant loss of government
oppression. Everybody's guilty everywhere, period.

As everybody's worst fear comes true though: a lot of
otherwise unaffiliated groups would probably see it as
a go signal, and just go all in themselves because of the
cover. A "They won't know it was us" thing.. because
I don't know of any domestic attack where the people
would sincerely advertise if they were vulnerable.
Would you?

Our troops so thinned out they'd be ineffective to do
anything in a worst case, what's left of DC would likely
ask the UN for help. "and we're here to Hell" takes over.
The militarized police pull out the REX84 book, and all the
troublemakers get pulled in or shot just on general principles.
The blackshirts seem to be well practiced up lately anyway..

The outliers from the cities would be either bugout time or
dig in like a tick... either way they'd pose no problem for
whoever wants to take the trouble of scooping them up later.
The UN thing is where that troubles me... the Oath
Keepers and other rank and file military have said in majority
they wouldn't fire on Americans... outsiders, something else.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

In one way, it would prove the Patriot Act was not successful. There has not been a war on our soil since the Revolutionary war that was between another country. Even if it were not detonated within D.C. it would dismantle our government to an extent, whether it just be the citizens belief that their government is doing their role in protecting us like they say they are, spending trillions of dollars in a decade on war and they cannot defend their own borders? That is good reason for a citizen to declare that our government is unable to do as they promise. They have all the capabilities to track all emails, phone, and yet they could not stop this? That would make Obama look like the biggest scumbag in the history of presidents, look at what he has done with immigration. If a nuke was tied to immigrants coming across any border and detonating it within a city they were plopped down on, it would be his responsibility as it was "his decision" to allow illegals to enter.

Martial law would most certainly be put into effect, however many states would not implement it. It would have to be on the State level. States woiuld make their own choice whether to or not. Lets say the bob was in Los Angeles, to have Martial Law in New York and Chicago would just cause a civil war between citizens and police. Think about it. If a terrorist was able to get a nuke into our border and detonate it, even within this Orwellian nature of government, Martial law shows no promise to protect anybody. There would be zero trust in the Police authority, even less than now.

It would be better for communities to band together and share resources within, shutting out all others, even police and government. By survival standards it makes much more sense, rather than getting transported to some FEMA camp or having the police patrol streets constantly in tanks and such. Martial Law could and would never deter another nuclear bomb from being detonated, therefore civilians should never accept martial law as a viable protection by the government for their safety.

If all hell broke out. I would hope the watchers would intervene. Before the planet was destroyed by to much radiation. I think everyone is afraid of them. So they won't do it as a country. Would be a group or a cult.

originally posted by: all2human
Can't even imagine it happening.

You can't? And yet THIS is exactly what extremists are working towards, tirelessly. One good knockout punch right in the heart of the Great Satan. It seems they will not rest until it is done, despite the utter hell on earth that might follow. When a collective of men, any men, pursue goals- it may take them many years- but eventually they will accomplish those goals. I not only imagine this happening, but see it just as a matter of time before it DOES happen.

everything would shut down for a whial def martal law but i dont think it last

the sheep would surender every right we have left

we would blame some place with lots of oil and bomb them to pices think iraq without any restraints we might even drop a nuke or 2 i mean turning the place in to ash and dust no one left alive

and meanwhal on ats there would be 1000 post of how it was a inside job

originally posted by: IAMTAT
I would imagine there are preexisting protocols already in place for such an event.
The U.S. response would be quick and massive.
It's conceivable that secret U.S. weapons would be unleashed that are probably 75-100 years technologically ahead of what the rest of the world has now.

I'm not sure with the confusion generated and the lack of
response by the great majority from us due to shock--
the PTB would even need to pull the tarp off of many new
toys. But if somebody elsewhere in the world saw the attack
as an indication of weakness and went for it, bets are off.

EDIT:: A lot of speculation had been offered about the new
and ultra advanced weapons that are friendly to structures,
but bad news for people. Imagine for example a microwave
cannon or a neutron burst high up enough to save the buildings
but toast the peeps. Cull the people and take over a whole
country relatively intact might be a primary agenda for them.

a reply to: TrueAmerican
There is extremism everywhere, wish you would be more specific
how would one target this?

originally posted by: iDope
There has not been a war on our soil since the Revolutionary war that was between another country.

War of 1812. DC was sacked by the British.
In WWII part of the Alaskan archipelago was invaded by Japan.

I doubt if they would target DC. They want the people to suffer, they don't want the politicians to lose power. It would be like solving a problem, once you solve it you are not needed anymore to solve it. Your services aren't needed anymore.

So they will target New York or LA or something like that, not where they will jeopardize their future and not be able to bitch about the government here anymore. They enjoy the game and don't want it to end.

I think I had
a quasi discussion
about the same topic
some time long ago
while pixlelated

I said I would
wrap myself in TinFoil
then bury myself
under a thin layer
of top soil

only to be discovered later
a human baked potato