Everyone does remember Bush's 2001 "Nuclear Posture Review," don't they?

[jobycom]

http://www.nrdi.org/nuclear/FinalNPR.htm

Expanding the Role of Nuclear Weapons

NPR: “In setting requirements for nuclear strike capabilities, distinctions can be made among the contingencies for which the United States must be prepared. Contingencies can be categorized as immediate, potential or unexpected.” (p. 16)
“North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Libya are among the countries that could be involved in immediate, potential, or unexpected contingencies.

Analysis: The adaptive planning described in the NPR expands the role of nuclear weapons beyond the primary role of deterring a nuclear attack and suggests that nuclear weapons could be employed against targets able to withstand non-nuclear attack or in retaliation for use of biological or chemical weapons.

snip

But in addition to the NPR’s contingency planning for a “plausible” nuclear threat by Russia, it plans for new and unexpected requirements for nuclear weapons to respond to the broad range of threats posed by others (i.e., Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria). This adaptive approach suggests that the U.S. is moving toward a new doctrine that both continues to emphasize Cold War-style nuclear deterrence and opens the option of making a first strike against non-nuclear adversaries.