Not many things scare the crap out of me, including the threat of nuclear war.
I was in public school in the ‘50s, when some schools had “duck and cover” exercises to protect students in a nuclear attack. It involved dropping to the floor and hiding under your desk, or sometimes leaving the classroom and curling up in the hall.
I lived in New York City, America’s largest and richest city, which was thought of as the Soviet Union’s #1 target for annihilation.
A lot of latter-day critics ridiculed the exercises as futile, unable to protect students from a flattening nuclear blast. Well, they were not intended to protect against the blast or radiation. They were designed to protect students from falling walls, and crucifying daggers of shattered window glass.
Public and private bomb shelters were built, and, of course, the government spent untold millions to construct shelters for government officials and military command and control.
All to no avail, according to “Nuclear War, A Scenario,” by Annie Jacobsen, a recognized authority on the subject, who scared the crap out of me.
Why?
I believed that an attack launched by mistake could be recalled, that ground controllers could do that.
They can’t, says Jacobsen.
Why?
Because such controls could be hacked by the enemy, and that’s why they don’t exist.
Remember the 1964 movie, “Fail Safe?”
A flight of U.S. bombers is launched, erroneously, to bomb Moscow. Unable to reach the bombers to call off the attack, the U.S. military shares information with the Russians to allow them to shoot down U.S. bombers.
But one gets through, to bomb Moscow.
To avoid a mass retaliation, to prove his good faith, the American president commands U.S. bombers to drop a nuke on New York.
What’s different today? A lot.
Starting with supersonic missiles, replacing sub sonic B-52 and B-2 bombers. The time from launch to impact is measured in minutes, not hours, and Jacobsen creates a terrifying narrative, not minute by minute, but second by second.
She conducted interviews with dozens of military experts, politicians, aerospace engineers, physicians, and others.
The first Russian target, in a sneak attack, or a bolt out of the blue, would be the Pentagon, for obvious reasons.
A 1-megaton thermonuclear weapon would generate 180-million-degree heat behind a flash so bright, it can’t be imagined, Jacobsen writes. The heat creates a fireball expanding at millions of miles per hour, and the 27,000 humans in the Pentagon would perish instantly.
And they would be the lucky ones.
—-
Office buildings and other structures become dust. More than 1 million people are dead or dying within two minutes of detonation, Jacobsen writes. Gas lines explode, one after another, acting like flamethrowers, spewing deadly streams of fire. Tanks containing flammable materials burst open. Open gaps in floors and roofs behave like chimneys. Carbon dioxide from the firestorms settle into subway tunnels, asphyxiating riders in their seats. Asphalt streets turn to liquid, trapping hundreds in molten quicksand. Tens of thousands of people have ruptured lungs. Crows, sparrows, and pigeons flying overhead catch fire and drop from the sky. There is no electricity, no phone service, no 911.
No cars, no TV, no internet, no emergency services. Everyone is on his own.
In 1954, there were 1,703 nuclear weapons in the U.S. stockpile. It reached a high of 31,255 nuclear bombs. Thanks to treaties, it is down to 5,000+ today.
That’s us. Russia, China, England, France, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea have their own.
If I read Jacobsen right, she is terrified about the prospect of nuclear war, based on her belief that if it starts, there is no stopping it and it will basically end the world as we know it.
So maybe that is why she questions complains that we have OPLAN 8010-12, which is an action plan against Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.
I ask, would we be safer without a retaliatory plan that our enemies know we have?
She writes we have 1,700 nukes ready to launch. Russia has 1,674.
Doesn’t that act as a deterrent on both sides? (Since publication of the book, Putin has rattled his saber, threatening to use battlefield nukes. The U.S. intel community is divided on whether he is serious.)
I believe it does act as a deterrent. It has so far.
Jacobsen fears not.
On Page 32, “Nuclear war begins with a blip on a radar screen.”
For unexplained reasons, North Korea has fired the Hwasong-17 ICBM at what we learn is the continental United States, a launch that is instantly detected, and within three seconds this message: BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCH, ALERT! is received by various U.S. intelligence agencies, which are shocked into action. Depending on the target, the ICBM will strike its target in less than 20 minutes.
The missile is tracked by 9,000 high-powered microprocessor-capable satellites, which speed information into the tip of the spear of the political/military complex.
They act, you may be surprised, with great calm.
Remember, the missile can’t be called back, it can’t be hacked. There is no Iron Dome protecting U.S. cities as it protects some Israeli cities.
Jacobsen makes no issue of this.
Maybe we should.
What the Left once ridiculed Star Wars as President Ronald Reagan’s ill-conceived plan, it is a reality — a bullet shooting a bullet out of the sky.
With an ICBM streaking toward the U.S., what the good guys are thinking is this: Why only one missile?
North Korea knows it will be destroyed by an overwhelming U.S. response.
The commander of the U.S. Strategic Command is the man (or woman) who advises the President on the use of nukes. No other person stands between them.
Second by second, minute by minute, Jacobsen creates a realistic scenario.
It is enough for you to know that, yes, the United States is attacked by nuclear missiles.
You will have to read the book to see what happens next.
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Thanks for sharing this. Very troubling, not sure how terrified I am but I am worried for sure.
The thought of surviving a nuclear war is almost as terrifying as the thought of nuclear war itself; the musical group The Grateful Dead got its name with that thought in mind. I served for two years on a 'ninety seconds to live' base in the Far East (an early-warning site for a Russian missile launch) and remember awaiting annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There will be no winners if someone pushes the nuclear button.
And a good Sunday morning to you, too, Stu.
Starting a week with a smile.
The latest theory is that the drones are looking for something, perhaps a missing nuclear device. The facts could lead to such a conclusion: The "desperation" of night-after-night drone sightings; an upcoming controversial political event; the geographical concentration of the drone sightings for the most part; the fact that they aren't needed for spying which can be done from a computer somewhere; and the inexplicable secrecy of a government that often proudly announces military maneuvers.
I guess we'll see what we see...
Que sera, sera.
Good Christmas gift. I'm sure my grandkids would love it
For you, Hanukkah gift.🙂
Well, that was fun. 😀 It is even more terrifying when you have incompetent people running the country, as we will have in just a few weeks. That should be enough to scare the crap out of everyone. I will never forgive these people for puttiing all our lives at risk and placing an idiot at the helm during these dangerous times. Never.
Yes indeed Freeze. But the MAGAts who voted for the idiot are ignoring the clowns that he is nominating for crucial positions. Think of it. Trying to do away with polio vaccines is only the beginning. Wait.
You are correct in what you said Wanda. Trying to do away with polio vaccines will pale in comparison to what they want to do.
You will never forgive a majority of voting Americans? Why never forgive Democrats for being so completely out of touch? My late Kamala vote was anti-Trump, not pro-her.
You prefer a brain-dead vegetable with his finger on the trigger?
Vince, you are even more pathetic than that orange-skinned POS who you love so much.
Once again, an ad hominem attack, avoiding the question.
If you said who you were speaking about I would give an answer.
The reason we are even talking about this subject is because of Biden and his gang of incompetents. By this time next year freeze, wicked Wanda and that asshole bogart will be wearing MAGA hats.😂
Danny, are you really that fucking stupid?
One of the good things abut living where we live, Stu, is it won't hurt long.
Got a spare room?
Two thoughts
1) Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is an effective deterrent only if everyone buys into the idea that it will be what it claims to be. As bellicose as Putin is, he gets it. However, there are those in Iran who desire a great conflagration to usher in their eschatology. They do not yet have the nuclear weapon capabilities to go after the Great Satan or the Little Satan, but they threaten to. MAD doesn't matter because it's subservient to a desired religious outcome. Will they eventually try to make good on the threat or will the Hermit Kingdom be the one to FAFO?
2) TDS never goes into remission.
Trump is already talking about starting a war with Iran. Only stupid, ignorant and uneducated troglodytes like dannyboy & Vince will be wearing their Magat tin hats. Apparently Vince feels comfortable with a mentally unstable sociopath with his finger on the button.
Wanda, Freeze & Bogart are three of the saner, intelligent people here.
And Jon C. drinks trump🤡 Kool-Ade. He has DDS, Democratic Derangement syndrome.
To all you trumpscum💩, when things go south remember the malignant narcissist you voted for!
Whatever Trump🤡 screws up, you deserve it, especially no-nothing Daniel💩
Keith B., thank you for your kind remarks. I very much appreciate them.