Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the use of nuclear weapons in war has
been prevented but there have been consistent outbreaks of crisis in
which their use was a possibility. The following list summarizes past
incidents in which the United States contemplated the possibility of
using nuclear weapons.

• 1946, March – Deployment of Soviet Army to Iran
• 1946, November – Shooting down of US plane by Yugoslavia
• 1948, January – Inauguration of a new Uraguayan President
• 1948, Apr-Jun – Sealing off of West Berlin by Soviet Union
• 1950, June – Break-out of war in Korea
• 1953, August – Deterioration of Korean War
• 1954, Apr-May – Offer to supply French in Vietnam w/ A-bomb
• 1954, May – Guatemala chooses pro-Soviet policy
• 1945, August – China’s liberation of Taiwan
• 1958, July – Iraq military coup and Taiwan Strait crisis
• 1959, May – Berlin issue
• 1961, June – Berlin issue
• 1962, October – Cuban missile crisis
• 1968, January – Seizure of USS Pueblo by North Korea
• 1968, February – Vietnam War (Battle of Quesan)
• 1969, November – Intensification of Vietnam War
• 1970, September – Invasion of Jordan by Syria
• 1973, October – Desire to halt 4th Middle-East War
• 1980, January – Desire to halt Iran Crisis
• 1991, January – Anticipation of chemical weapons use by Iraq in Persian Gulf War