Some Physicists oppose the use of nuclear weapons

Various physicists and mathematicians oppose the use of nuclear weapons against Iran and they've written a letter for President Bush, see the link.

Unfortunately, these scientists misunderstand the nature of military planning. They intimate that nuclear weapons should not be an option and want the President to say so. That would be wrong. The President, and any military planner, cannot simply rule-out options and leave himself no alternative. It's impossible to predict what an adversary will do or not do. Because of that, any planner has to leave all options open for the "just in case" scenario. To close off options is to self-limit oneself and thereby give an adversary an advantage he would not have otherwise.

If these scientists did more work with the military I think they could appreciate more of how the military works, plans, and responds to world events. It's not simple and it's not easy.