The Use of Nuclear Weapons is Authorized...
Think about it, 25 years ago we were still ready for the birds of death to come flying over us and rain down upon our heads an atomic wave of death on the nation. The threat of a force touching the life of every single man woman and child on the earth was something that was at the time, a very real threat.
So what happens if one of those things would go off today?
Who would we start to look to in order to place the blame?
And why in the hell am I even typing about this?
Well it would seem today, Sept. 5, 2007, nuclear weapons flew over the United State of America. (Click the link to read about the huge frak-up http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427730/?GT1=10357) So what's the big deal, we should be able to move our weapons at will at any point one would say. And I will agree with that to an extent. A country should not be limited in it's ability to move forces, whether they be arms or troops, from one location to another. but what does that movement mean to other nations?
Looking at the munitions that we have today, it doesn't relaly matter what coast we keep them on, they can reach out and touch someone. hell, they can be in the center of the frakkin country and they will still get to their assigned destination. so why does moving them mean anything? well with news out that we have moved them, i do not doubt that another nation will call this accident an act of hidden aggression on their sovereign nation. so who might make this claim? well placing the weapons in the north now lets North Korea and Russia hold this claim. Just a few months ago we were having problems with Russia when we were trying to push a missile defense plan for Europe. And of course the bad Korea is on the checklist of places that pose a threat. So now we have just given two powerful places a means to make for thier case of US aggression.
I write these words and I worry about them, because I think of what some of my old army friends would have said, and their response would have been that it doesn't matter, because we could just go in and f--- them up. I am not one to agree with this. While I feel that victory would be possible, it would not be worth the price. We go to war with Russia and we then get to see how good our missile defense is. We go to war with North Korea, and we have huge issues, such as no exit plan. Sound familiar? So then we look like an even bigger bully on the block, going around throwing our weight and not caring the outcome. I am sure that die hard supporters of this administration are not seeing the problem at all in moving the weapons. There are other things to consider outside of what could happen in retaliation.
What happens when the plane that is carrying the weapons has a mechanical failure and crashes? I know there are safeguards on teh weapons that ensure they would survive such a crash, but lets also consider that there are safeguards in place to make sure planes and helicopters don't crash either, and those things fall from the sky my friends.
So imagine this, you are sitting at work, and someone comes in and says to go check out cnn.com
you go to the site to hear that what appears to be a nuclear device has gone off in the midwest and the president, vice-president, and cabinet have now retreated to an undisclosed location.
Next on the list of things for is that the joint chiefs will be advising the president on what action to take next. there would be an alert level put out so that in only about an hour and a half, every single military post, reserve, and guard center, would have armed guards at the units, all of which would be authorized the use of deadly force.
parents would be rushing to schools to get their children, people would start leaving the city, stores would be clogged with people buying milk, eggs, and bread, because for some reason those things are going to save your life, and families would be tied to the television to see what would happene next.
here is where things would get tricky. given the location of where the missile would go, there is the chance that it could be in a region where we have one of our old nuke sites. if that would be a place that got hit, it would almost be safe to assume that we would blame Russia, who had our old sites targeted from the Cold War, for the detonation of the device. If that were the case we would probably then be on a path of brinkmanship, accusing the Russians of attacking us.
The next few moments of dialogue would be precious and who knows what would happen. It almost happened once, and with the kind of irresponsiblity that we displayed today, could very well happen again, and possibly even to the next level. The people that moved these weapons are supposed to be professionals. and yes, even the pros can make mistakes, but can we afford and explanation such as human error when it is a matter of the security of the world?
Actions such as these worry me.
please feel free to add what you like. Steve and Bob, I am sure you both have comments. Fire at will.
So what happens if one of those things would go off today?
Who would we start to look to in order to place the blame?
And why in the hell am I even typing about this?
Well it would seem today, Sept. 5, 2007, nuclear weapons flew over the United State of America. (Click the link to read about the huge frak-up http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427730/?GT1=10357) So what's the big deal, we should be able to move our weapons at will at any point one would say. And I will agree with that to an extent. A country should not be limited in it's ability to move forces, whether they be arms or troops, from one location to another. but what does that movement mean to other nations?
Looking at the munitions that we have today, it doesn't relaly matter what coast we keep them on, they can reach out and touch someone. hell, they can be in the center of the frakkin country and they will still get to their assigned destination. so why does moving them mean anything? well with news out that we have moved them, i do not doubt that another nation will call this accident an act of hidden aggression on their sovereign nation. so who might make this claim? well placing the weapons in the north now lets North Korea and Russia hold this claim. Just a few months ago we were having problems with Russia when we were trying to push a missile defense plan for Europe. And of course the bad Korea is on the checklist of places that pose a threat. So now we have just given two powerful places a means to make for thier case of US aggression.
I write these words and I worry about them, because I think of what some of my old army friends would have said, and their response would have been that it doesn't matter, because we could just go in and f--- them up. I am not one to agree with this. While I feel that victory would be possible, it would not be worth the price. We go to war with Russia and we then get to see how good our missile defense is. We go to war with North Korea, and we have huge issues, such as no exit plan. Sound familiar? So then we look like an even bigger bully on the block, going around throwing our weight and not caring the outcome. I am sure that die hard supporters of this administration are not seeing the problem at all in moving the weapons. There are other things to consider outside of what could happen in retaliation.
What happens when the plane that is carrying the weapons has a mechanical failure and crashes? I know there are safeguards on teh weapons that ensure they would survive such a crash, but lets also consider that there are safeguards in place to make sure planes and helicopters don't crash either, and those things fall from the sky my friends.
So imagine this, you are sitting at work, and someone comes in and says to go check out cnn.com
you go to the site to hear that what appears to be a nuclear device has gone off in the midwest and the president, vice-president, and cabinet have now retreated to an undisclosed location.
Next on the list of things for is that the joint chiefs will be advising the president on what action to take next. there would be an alert level put out so that in only about an hour and a half, every single military post, reserve, and guard center, would have armed guards at the units, all of which would be authorized the use of deadly force.
parents would be rushing to schools to get their children, people would start leaving the city, stores would be clogged with people buying milk, eggs, and bread, because for some reason those things are going to save your life, and families would be tied to the television to see what would happene next.
here is where things would get tricky. given the location of where the missile would go, there is the chance that it could be in a region where we have one of our old nuke sites. if that would be a place that got hit, it would almost be safe to assume that we would blame Russia, who had our old sites targeted from the Cold War, for the detonation of the device. If that were the case we would probably then be on a path of brinkmanship, accusing the Russians of attacking us.
The next few moments of dialogue would be precious and who knows what would happen. It almost happened once, and with the kind of irresponsiblity that we displayed today, could very well happen again, and possibly even to the next level. The people that moved these weapons are supposed to be professionals. and yes, even the pros can make mistakes, but can we afford and explanation such as human error when it is a matter of the security of the world?
Actions such as these worry me.
please feel free to add what you like. Steve and Bob, I am sure you both have comments. Fire at will.