Revisiting Hiroshima in Iran: What Americans Really Think about Using Nuclear Weapons and Killing Noncombatants

Abstract

Since the 1945 nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have Americans developed moral taboos against using nuclear weapons and killing noncombatants? A recent survey experiment suggests not. When asked to consider U.S. use of nuclear weapons in a hypothetical war with Iran, a majority of Americans prioritized protecting U.S. troops and achieving American war aims, even when doing so would mean using nuclear weapons to kill millions of foreign civilians.