Would you have attacked the Soviet Union?

[Razgovory]

In 1962, the US would've effectively gotten its hair mussed in exchange for annihilating Communism.

Rough on Europe, of course.

But I'm more interested in a scenario in which Truman had ramped up bomb production and had the power to hit the USSR with, say, 10-40 bombs.

Hair mussed?  How many warheads did they have capable of reaching NA?

I believed they had about 4 ICBMs though they (like the US) relied on heavy bombers.  I doubt many of their bombers would have gotten through and like wise few of the US bombers would have.

[Kleves]

Could the Soviets reliably shoot down B-52s? LeMay had a ton of them in the early '60's.

[The Brain]

Can you fucking 60s guys start your own fucking thread? Pretty please with assjuice on top?

[CountDeMoney]

Of course not.  What a douchebag Timmay alt-thread.

I'd have attempted to assassinate him six ways from Sunday, though.

Why do you hate Truman?

I was molested by a haberdasher once.  Wasn't pretty.

[The Brain]

Of course not.  What a douchebag Timmay alt-thread.

I'd have attempted to assassinate him six ways from Sunday, though.

Why do you hate Truman?

I was molested by a haberdasher once.  Wasn't pretty.

Well you are now.

[CountDeMoney]

Of course not.  What a douchebag Timmay alt-thread.

I'd have attempted to assassinate him six ways from Sunday, though.

Why do you hate Truman?

I was molested by a haberdasher once.  Wasn't pretty.

Well you are now.

[Tonitrus]

If alien lizards and Confederates with AK-47s help in that attack, then yes.

[saskganesh]

no. people were tired of war. really, really tired of war. because people really die in war. its true, look it up, (maybe not on the internet.)

whatever else happened in the future, 1946 was a time for peace. full stop.

[Neil]

If I could get away with it politically, yes. However this isn't a luxury that Truman had. He wasn't a dictator, he couldn't have started a war against the USSR on a whim. Almost everyone was already tired of war.

You'd kill millions of innocent people because of the danger that Stalin might use the bomb one day?

Millions of Russians.  Not people.

[Neil]

whatever else happened in the future, 1946 was a time for peace. full stop.

Unless, of course, you lived in part of the world where it wasn't, like China, South East Asia, Brazil, India, or the Middle East.

Quit being such a Eurocentric pig.

[Zoupa]

I might have done more to keep the Soviets out of eastern Europe but certainly wouldn't have started off with an offensive war against the USSR.

It was already too late in 46. It was too late when the US split from the Brits/Canucks in late 44.

[dps]

I don't think there was ever a time when we had sufficient nuclear bombs to defeat the Soviet Union without suffering a significant counter strike.

1945-1949?

I would have tried to leverage the atomic bomb for greater political freedom for occupied Europe, but probably wouldn't have dropped one unless the Soviets struck first.

Bingo. 

What was the realistic reach of the US air force inside Soviet Union? 

In '46, assuming that the British would let us base B-29's in their country, pretty much anywhere.  Otherwise, it would have been a bit dicey until the B-36s entered service in '48.  I guess if there was an active war going on, the B-36 program could have been accelerated a bit, but I don't think you could have gotten them into squadrons more than a few months earlier.

[Slargos]

Undoubtedly.

I would be willing to sacrifice up to 10% of the American population in order to destroy the menace that is the slavic race.

If germans and/or french could be sent in as cannonfodder in the front of this operation, so much the better.

I think the better question is this: Would you continue the drive through Russia and into China or would perhaps the effort be better spent in developing the nuclear capacity to destroy the red chineese?

[Ideologue]

Undoubtedly.

I would be willing to sacrifice up to 10% of the American population in order to destroy the menace that is the slavic race.

If germans and/or french could be sent in as cannonfodder in the front of this operation, so much the better.

I think the better question is this: Would you continue the drive through Russia and into China or would perhaps the effort be better spent in developing the nuclear capacity to destroy the red chineese?

I'd be willing to sacrifice 100% of the Swedish immigrant population.

[Neil]

I think the better question is this: Would you continue the drive through Russia and into China or would perhaps the effort be better spent in developing the nuclear capacity to destroy the red chineese?

I think that the Nationalists would take care of that for you.  With continued American support for the Nationalists, and no support for the Commuists, the outcome of the Chinese Civil War would be in doubt.