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Where Will The Bombs Drop During A Nuclear War? Now We Know

A Declassified List Of Real US Targets For Nuclear Strikes

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Trinity test (Public domain)

Nuclear war is a terrifying prospect for many reasons. One of the biggest fears stems from the unknown. No one really knows where the bombs will fall during a nuclear exchange. Will it be on dense population centers or against chiefly military targets? Will either side show restraint or will the bombs fall everywhere? During the Cuban Missile Crisis many people believed that Miami and the Florida Keys would come under nuclear attack simply because they were nearby.

Previously, nuclear targets were kept secret and the government’s answers to questions about who was a target were coy. Now, thanks to declassified Cold War documents, we can get a clearer picture of what is and is not a target of nuclear ire. A cache of documents produced in the 1950s gives an unprecedented look into the mind of nuclear planners and can help us decipher what the targets are in the event of a nuclear exchange.

What Is On The List?

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US nuclear strike map, 1959 (George Washington University)

The world looked a little bit different in 1959 than it does today. The list of US…

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