woodguru wrote:
That is a ridiculous question, and one that has only one sane answer to...
First strike, hell no...
Better to ask what the purpose would be
The purpose of a preemptive strike (surprise attack) is to prevent your enemy from attacking you.
A preemptive strike (surprise attack) is an act of self-defense,
in a larger sense, it is "Preventative War".
This sort of military action is not a new concept.
Surprise attacks are a military commander's most effective means of defeating an enemy.
Throughout the history of conflict and war, there are uncountable instances where preemptive, or surprise, attacks have been launched on large scale and small. In some cases, the attack stopped a war before it started.
Off the top of my head, some examples of surprise attacks, both large and small:
The granddaddy of all preventative wars was the Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.)
General Washington's surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton that turned the tide of the Revolutionary War.
Stonewall Jackson's flanking move with an entire corps at Chancellorsville that rolled up the Union line resulting in a stunning defeat of Hooker's army.
The Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor was an effort to secure the left flank of Japanese expansion in SE Asia and take America out of the war.
Hitler's surprise attack on the Soviet Union in June, 1941- Operation Barbarrosa.
Hitlers surprise attacks through the Ardennes in May, 1940, and again in December, 1944.
The Israeli surprise attack in June, 1967 that destroyed the Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian air forces on the ground and shortened the war to 6 days.