Burhead
God-Emperor of Politics
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Briefing the president but keeping the public in the dark | Center for Public Integrity
Classified briefing given to Eisenhower in 1958 detailing the costs of a nuclear exchange between the US and the Soviet Union:
Classified briefing given to Eisenhower in 1958 detailing the costs of a nuclear exchange between the US and the Soviet Union:
Twelve million Americans would be killed outright and 60 million would be dead within a year. The federal government, with the exception of the vice president and perhaps one cabinet member, would be wiped out. Citizens would be dependent on bartering for up to a year. Widespread fires would destroy 169,000 square miles of land, a larger area than the state of California. A lethal blanket of radiation would cover up to half the nation for weeks.
There would be 41 million immediate deaths in the Soviet Union and more than 100 million people dead after one month. The Gross National Product in the USSR would be reduced by 75 percent, the government would be almost completely destroyed, there would be severe transportation problems, and medical supplies would be scarce.