ABSTRACT
The chance that some nuclear weapon will kill masses of innocent humans somewhere, before very long, may well be higher than it was before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The influence of the United States is critical for two reasons. First, because the United States has led by example for 64 years of making nuclear first-use threats in external conflicts, and it is engaged in making such threats right now. Second, because it may soon be the first state since 1945 to carry out such threats. For the last four years, the greatest short-run danger of nuclear explosions on people has been posed by US threats of a near-term air attack on Iran, possibly with nuclear weapons. This chapter focuses on the threats that are occurring, with little domestic opposition, and what that discloses about the past, present, and future of the nuclear era.
