If a Nuclear bomb were dropped....

[CapnAwesome]

Lets just imagine a few million people are dead, and New York is effectively destroyed. The perpetrators were a small group of foreigners from different countries.  What do you think the foreign and domestic reaction of the US government would be?

We'd go batshit crazy.  Just like 9-11.

Somehow I think it would be a little bigger then that. Do you think there would be nuclear retaliation and against who?

[Excited Penguin]

When you're talking about a nuclear bomb you're talking about certain governments by necessity. A random group of people with no government resources behind them won't be able to pull something like that in a million years. Nuking those governments and/or the sites that hold further nuclear weapons would be the only thing left to do.

[c172]

Living in the USA would suddenly become an unpleasant thing, for sure. I'm wondering about Canada, which is right to our north, and is a good ally, but never afraid to observantly comment on our doings.

[Gawdzilla]

When you're talking about a nuclear bomb you're talking about certain governments by necessity. A random group of people with no government resources behind them won't be able to pull something like that in a million years. Nuking those governments and/or the sites that hold further nuclear weapons would be the only thing left to do.

Unless they steal one.

[Joods]

Yeah.  The U.S. would pick one country as scapegoat for "harboring terrorists" and go after them, provided they have oil.

That's what happened when a single building went down. I'd imagine a more extreme reaction from a whole city being destroyed.

Um no. It was two skyscrapers, the Pentagon and heroes on a single airplane who cause that plane to go down in a field in Pennsylvania, rather than at the terrorists target.
We lost thousands that day, please get it right. It was so much MORE than a single building.

[Excited Penguin]

When you're talking about a nuclear bomb you're talking about certain governments by necessity. A random group of people with no government resources behind them won't be able to pull something like that in a million years. Nuking those governments and/or the sites that hold further nuclear weapons would be the only thing left to do.

Unless they steal one.

You think it's that easy to just steal something like that?

[paulpablo]

I would reckon it depends on the size of the weapon. Some might destroy the whole world, but, well, Nagasaki's still around.

If it were a smaller one, I'd say it would permanently alter the infrastructure of that whole state and beyond. I could imagine it setting up a second Constitutional Convention, or worse.

Lets just imagine a few million people are dead, and New York is effectively destroyed. The perpetrators were a small group of foreigners from different countries.  What do you think the foreign and domestic reaction of the US government would be?

I imagine it depends on which countries the foreigners came from. 

The basic reaction would obviously be to find out which terrorist group they are from then to viciously attack them. 

Assuming Donald Trump doesn't die in the attack it could be a good thing for his campaign, extreme measures like the one's he proposes are most likely what a lot of people would turn to in a desperate situation like that.

There could be a big government overhaul, or Obama could adapt to the situation and control the country in some sort of violent police state, I think people would demand to see extreme changes in security and immigration though and Donald Trump is one man who talks about extreme changes in both of these.

[Excited Penguin]

Lets just imagine a few million people are dead, and New York is effectively destroyed. The perpetrators were a small group of foreigners from different countries.  What do you think the foreign and domestic reaction of the US government would be?

I imagine it depends on which countries the foreigners came from. 

The basic reaction would obviously be to find out which terrorist group they are from then to viciously attack them. 

Assuming Donald Trump doesn't die in the attack it could be a good thing for his campaign, extreme measures like the one's he proposes are most likely what a lot of people would turn to in a desperate situation like that.

There could be a big government overhaul, or Obama could adapt to the situation and control the country in some sort of violent police state, I think people would demand to see extreme changes in security and immigration though and Donald Trump is one man who talks about extreme changes in both of these.

I guess my question is: How much power would the POTUS really have in that kind of situation? Could he just proceed without the backing of Congress, for example?

[Jello]

Well hey, there are those 3 small nuclear bombs the russians lost in the cold war, right? Fairly sure they admitted that. so, just wait and it might happen D:

[brewer]

I hope I'm wrong but I think the US/North America would have a knee jerk reaction. Become isolationist. Retaliate against any perceived enemy. Take a first strike position against any perceived threat (nuclear or other).