Talk:Operation Giant Lance

Dates are wrong
The fact that Nixon ordered the B-52's up was certainly known before the 2000s. I remember it being widely discussed in articles about DEFCON in the 1990s. For instance, this book from 1990 clearly talks about the event. Maury Markowitz (talk) 19:33, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

Editing article
I am currently editing the entire article with newfound and properly referenced information for my university course. At the moment, I am experience excessive issues trying to edit, cite sources, and insert templates due to my lack of knowledge with code. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lche0142 (talk • contribs) 15:26, 25 May 2020 (UTC)

Edited article
I've finished editing and adding my information on top of the previous contributor. I've done this as apart of my university assignment. I have kept what was valuable as well as fixed some technical template issues (ie. unlinking infoboxes, references and the introductory descriptions). I have also made adjustments by ridding of broken links, sourceless statements and a few other small changes. I've editted some more information into the infobox, attached a declassified document image and added a 2000 word equivalent in regards to four major content blocks (Background [State of the Vietnam war, Preparation], Purpose, Madman theory, Implications [Giant Lance's success, Social perception to nuclear warfare]).

If there are any errors or questions please contact me before making any major changes, as the content has yet to be marked for my university assignment. Many thanks everyone. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lche0142 (talk • contribs) 04:19, 27 May 2020 (UTC)


 * Edit: I also need to mention that the language here and dates may be confusing, this is because I'm Australian so dates go by Day/Month/Year and there are slight spelling differences in the language. I've kept it this way for the purpose of my assignment being marked by my institution, I may come back to change this afterwards to fit the Wikipedia standard after marking. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lche0142 (talk • contribs) 04:35, 27 May 2020 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 16:22, 28 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Cable from JCS Chairman Wheeler to General Holloway.pdf

Oppose deletion of the file. It is relevant to the article and of interest. Bobkustofawitshz (talk) 00:41, 24 June 2020 (UTC)

The phrase "glacier caps around Moscow"
The phrase seems odd, as the climate of Moscow seems warmer than would be compatible with glaciers. (In summertime there are months where it's above the freezing point of water - even the record low shows that.) It also seems to be based on a single source. Maybe it's based on a cliché that Russia is cold everywhere.

Looking at, List of glaciers in Russia and List_of_glaciers_in_Europe, it seems that few, if any, glaciers are near Moscow. though I'm not an expert on Russian geography. Autarch (talk) 17:26, 11 June 2020 (UTC)

Needs Rewrite
This article is verbose, repetitive and riddled with errors. It reads almost like a cut & paste from various sources, with little discernible organization and English phrased like it was written by a foreigner. I think a rewrite is in order. I wasn’t aware Richard Nixon was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis... Bobkustofawitshz (talk) 00:51, 24 June 2020 (UTC)


 * I strongly agree. This article should be reverted to an earlier, simpler version. CitizenEd (talk) 22:18, 27 October 2022 (UTC)
 * I suggest reverting to the version of 08:49, 9 March 2020‎ by Sptudor, which seems to say all that is needed – and much more directly. CitizenEd (talk) 22:28, 27 October 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 08:41, 24 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Cable from JCS Chairman Wheeler to General Holloway.pdf

Cuban Missile Crisis
Nixon was not President during the Cuban Missile Crisis (which can be linked via Wikipedia). Change the reference to "John F. Kennedy" or "Nixon's predecessor." Drwong64 (talk) 15:04, 19 January 2023 (UTC)

Rewrite of original article
This is an overhaul of the original article on “Operation Giant Lance.”  Its author should be commended for taking on an important topic,  but the resulting article was vague, incorrect, and confusing at key points, all making it difficult to fix. The new version is an attempt to cover the same ground using more precise language and the more extensive citation of primary sources and secondary sources Nixon administration policy during the Vietnam War. Atomic researcher (talk) 15:47, 11 July 2023 (UTC)


 * I have reverted your version of the article back to the latest version by Banedon at 05:25 on 11 July 2023‎.
 * I am sorry but I think that your version is much less readable. For example, the fact that nuclear-armed B-52 bombers were flown over Alaska is not mentioned until the second paragraph, and the fact that this was to frighten the Soviets into thinking there was going to be a nuclear attack is not mentioned at all, as far as I can see.
 * The net effect is to deaden the impact of this dramatic event.
 * I recognise that you have put a lot of work into this. Can I suggest that you utilise this work by adding your citations into the original version (by Banedon at 05:25 on 11 July 2023) and by correcting the errors that you mention?
 * I would welcome the views of other editors.
 * (By the way, you seem to be an experienced editor, but I see no evidence of past editing against your monicker of "Atomic researcher". Do you mind me asking if you have edited Wikipedia before under another name?)


 * CitizenEd (talk) 18:21, 11 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you Citizen Ed. I appreciate your comments and suggestions. I stand by my assessment of the original article.  Concerning your point that the Nixon administration had the intention of trying to frighten the Soviets into thinking there would be a nuclear attack, I don't agree.  It is true that Nixon and Kissinger wanted to make the Soviets worried, but they also did not want the signals to be seen as threatening. So it was all very contradictory and the Soviets wrote it off.  In any event rather than trying to improve the original article I will probably use my contribution elsewhere in Wikipedia once I have made some adjustments.
 * I have contributed to Wikipedia before, most recently by updating the history section of the article on the nuclear Football. Atomic researcher (talk) 14:20, 12 July 2023 (UTC)