There are no good strategic reasons for using nukes, and plenty of good strategic reasons not to use them:

1. A 1kT yield is militarily useless against bunkers. Larger yields would do the job, but being ground bursts, would potentially spread fall-out all the way into Russia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel, depending on which way the wind was blowing. Some parts of Wales are still dealing with the fallout from Chernobyl, so ignoring fall-out is really not a good idea.

2. 1kT is bad enough. Using anything as a tactical bunker buster more could really, really, really piss off the rest of the world.

3. The bunker buster idea is nonsense. All you get is a conventional nuke going off under the minimal cover of 10-20ft of rock. In terms of cratering and fall out, the difference between this and a ground burst are minimal.

4. The Pentagon apparently believes it can keep the Strait of Hormuz open. This is fantasy. It can't.

The bigger question is how the rest of the world, especially Russia, China, India, and the Saudis, responds. So far, no one is saying anything, which makes it very hard to tell.

Many Americans have raised legitimate questions: about the nature of the threat; about the urgency of action -- why be concerned now; about the link between Iraq developing weapons of terror, and the wider war on terror. These are all issues we've discussed broadly and fully within my administration. And tonight, I want to share those discussions with you.

First, some ask why Iraq is different from other countries or regimes that also have terrible weapons. While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone -- because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place. Iraq's weapons of mass destruction are controlled by a murderous tyrant who has already used chemical weapons to kill thousands of people. This same tyrant has tried to dominate the Middle East, has invaded and brutally occupied a small neighbor, has struck other nations without warning, and holds an unrelenting hostility toward the United States.

By its past and present actions, by its technological capabilities, by the merciless nature of its regime, Iraq is unique. As a former chief weapons inspector of the U.N. has said, "The fundamental problem with Iraq remains the nature of the regime, itself. Saddam Hussein is a homicidal dictator who is addicted to weapons of mass destruction."

If the US uses nuclear weapons, then dosn't Bush's speech apply just as well if you  put his name in in place of Saddam's? Would Iran be justified in making preemptive strikes by the logic that Bush used in starting the Iraq adventure?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

And can anything be done to stop this madness?

In addition to writing to members of Congress and calling into to talk-shows, how about doing what the illegal immigrants did in L.A., and later in New York, or what the French students and labor unions have been doing in France?

I know that there were massive protests in the U.S. on the eve of the Iraq war and that they did diddly-squat.  But this was because the mainstream media were too spineless to cover them, and were supporting the general pro-war national groupthink that was going on.  Since then, many, many Americans have wisened up, and have turned against this administration, and I suspect (though I may be wrong) that there is so much pent up anger that a trigger issue -- such as a looming military confrontation against Iran, the recent revelation by Scooter Libby about Bush's selective disclosure of classified information, more revelations about the NSA surveillance program, etc. -- might cause a huge range of upset people to come out into the streets, protest PEACEFULLY, about a cascade of issues, and this time have a REAL impact on national policy.  

Why?  Because I think the mainstream media has sobred up since 2003, will cover these protests, and will force Congress -- and perhaps even Bush directly -- to take into consideration the protesters' gripes.  Of course, if this were to really work, it should not just happen in the usual liberal bastions such as New York, Los Angeles, Boston, etc., but in relatively conservative, "heartland" locations as well.  Otherwise, the demonstrations could easily be written off my the conservative media -- and conservative voters -- as a phenomenon isolated to extreme liberal enclaves.

Ah forget about it.  This is all just wishful thinking.

Point n'est besoin d'espérer pour entreprendre, ni de réussir pour persévérer. - Charles le Téméraire

European countries could issue public statements that categorically say that any use of nuclear weapons under such circumstances would lead to the suspension of the US from NATO and the shuttering of US bases in Europe, diplomatically surrounded by statements that of course the whole idea is ridiculous and they're sure that the US isn't contemplating anything like that.

Pretty soon, the world will scramble around to delude ourselves that all is not lost, things are not quite as bad as we initially thought, maybe it is a good thing that Iran has lost its nuclear capabilities, look the oil price is beginning to stabilize, at least america reinforced it nuclear deterrence against other rogue states what's wrong with that, let's bygone be bygone what's more important is humanitarian relief to poor Iranians, nuclear bombs did save more lives than killed don't you know, etc, etc.

We should not be surprised if not only Tony but Chirac and Putin fly to Washington, and call upon the world jointly with Bush that we must stand united behind america at a moment of tragedy in order not to "repeat the tragedy of Iraq."

Those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (and all those Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos and other Asians who suffered under our occupation) died in vain. May their souls rest in peace.

I will become a patissier, God willing.

Bush doesn't have the troops to invade.  He can't start a draft, because it would never make it through Congress (and the Supreme Court would tell him to go to hell -- yes, even the right-wing justices).  Iraq is a mess.  The entire world doesn't trust America, and it will refuse to go along with this.

His hands are tied.  This is nothing but a political play to get Iran back to the negotiations.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.