I can see NO situation involving the Osama bin Ladaan that it would be acceptable to use nuclear payloads. With todays munitions like the Paveway, bunker buster and daisy cutters, theres no need to use nukes of any size.

 

And remember, Pakistan also has nukes.

I have always found that someone’s first response to a question is the true response. He initially said he wouldn’t use nuclear devices ''in any circumstance”. When you look at his entire platform, I think it is fair to say nuclear devices aren’t an option.

I think Obama blinked on this one. And I’m sure bin Laden isn’t threatened by his response.

 

I'm not sure he's threatened by anyone's response at this time.

I agree, but a president needs to be saavy enough to know when and when not to answer hypothetical questions. The thought of Obama fulfilling his promise to sit down with the cagiest thugs in the world for a meeting with "no preconditions" is pretty scary.

 

The latter situation bothers me much, much more than the nuke comment as Obama has had ample opportunities to clarify any misunderstandings on his position. I totally agree with the criticism of him on that issue. And I do agree that he needs to learn to be more savvy and not address issues like nukes on the fly. One thing we have to keep in mind is that Obama is a relatively inexperienced elected official. I'm sure he faced nothing like the scrutiny and media grilling he's facing when he was a state legislator and he's only been in the Senate a few years, which I'm sure explains some of his gaffes (which inexperience is I think a fair criticism of why he isn't the best choice of even the two Democratic candidates, and certainly is not the best choice when compared to McCain).

 

As for Uncle Jed's comment about the first thing said being the truth, I have to say that as someone who has to do a lot of public speaking from time to time, I often mis-speak (my mind is thinking one thing and my mouth says something different). I wasn't being dishonest at all; I just mis-spoke. It happens and it happens more frequently when I'm tired or when I'm thrown a fast ball that is completely off topic of the subjects I thought I was going to be speaking on. So I'm still going to give Obama the benefit of the doubt on the nuke option issue and attribute it to him simply being very tired from the campaign trail and inexperienced. Now if he holds a press conference and after having had time to think carefully, he says he will never under any circumstances use a nuke or won't use a nuke if there is the possibility of even one civilian death, then that's something completely different. But he hasn't done that.

Obama's response to the question was not unreasonable given that it was a totally open-ended question with absolutely no context and concerned the sensitive subject of the use of nuclear weapons. I would hope any President would consult his advisors and carefully weigh the possible outcomes of any course of action involving nuclear weapons. Responding to this question without careful thought could needlessly complicate our relations with Afghanistan and Pakistani governments.

I also would give him the benefit of the doubt if I wasn’t aware of his view on nuclear weapons.

From Obama’s web site:

• Toward a Nuclear Free World: Obama will set a goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and pursue it. Obama will always maintain a strong deterrent as long as nuclear weapons exist. But he will take several steps down the long road toward eliminating nuclear weapons. He will stop the development of new nuclear weapons; work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair trigger alert; seek dramatic reductions in U.S. and Russian stockpiles of nuclear weapons and material; and set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate- range missiles so that the agreement is global.

I think his first answer fits this stance more than the others. I know he says he “will always maintain a strong deterrent as long as nuclear weapons exist”, but I’m not convinced he is willing to use them.

I also know bin Laden is not scared by anything said, but I would think this could be encouraging to him and other terrorists

Because George Bush isn't running.