Duck and cover

In Washington, a pre-emptive strike on nuclear-armed North Korea is getting serious consideration

A 1955 demonstration of how to survive a sneak nuclear attack.
(Image credit: Three Lions/Getty Images)

This is the editor’s letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.

The timing is probably just coincidental, but next week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a public forum to educate us about how to respond to "a nuclear detonation." Experts in "radiation studies" will provide helpful tips, such as "shelter in place" for at least 24 hours. It might be advisable to pay attention. As Kim Jong Un continues to pursue his development of nuclear missiles that can strike the U.S., Gerald Seib reports in The Wall Street Journal this week, there is a lively debate within the Trump administration about a pre-emptive strike. If Kim tests another ICBM or hydrogen bomb, national security adviser H.R. McMaster is arguing, the U.S. should give him "a bloody nose," with a limited airstrike on his nuclear facilities — and gamble that he doesn't respond.

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William Falk

William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.