Close Calls: We Were Much Closer to Nuclear Annihilation Than We Ever Knew

[newthinking]

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/27/close-calls-we-were-much-closer-to-nuclear-annihilation-than-we-ever-knew/



The proposition that nuclear weapons can be retained in perpetuity and never used – accidentally or by decision – defies credibility”.

This unanimous statement was published by the Canberra Commission in 1996. Among the commission members were internationally known former ministers of defense and of foreign affairs and generals.

The nuclear-weapon states do not intend to abolish their nuclear weapons. They promised to do so when they signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1970.

Furthermore, the International Court in The Hague concluded in its advisory opinion more than 20 years ago that these states were obliged to negotiate and bring to a conclusion such negotiations on complete nuclear disarmament.

The nuclear-weapon states disregard this obligation. On the contrary, they invest enormous sums in the modernization of these weapons of global destruction.

It is difficult today to raise a strong opinion in the nuclear-weapon states for nuclear disarmament. One reason is that the public sees the risk of a nuclear war between these states as so unlikely that it can be disregarded.

It is then important to remind ourselves that we were for decades, during the Cold War, threatened by extinction by nuclear war. We were not aware at that time how close we were.

In this article I will summarize some of the best-known critical situations. Recently published evidence shows that the danger was considerably greater than we knew at the time.

The risk today of a nuclear omnicide – killing all or almost all humans – is probably smaller than during the Cold War, but the risk is even today real and it may be rising. That is the reason I wish us to remind ourselves again: as long as nuclear weapons exist we are in danger of extermination.

Full story:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/05/27/close-calls-we-were-much-closer-to-nuclear-annihilation-than-we-ever-knew/

[braddy]

1. Individuals and nations who think that nuclear attack is inevitable, should prepare for it.

[HuckleB]

2. My dad was in the Air Force during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

He remembers being called in to load nuclear warheads, and being told that war was imminent. He really didn't think he would see his family and friends again. He says, it still makes him shake and shiver when he thinks about those days.

[skylucy]

3. Wow. Interesting post. I was a child during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but I remember watching the

news on TV with my parents and hearing my parents express concern about what could happen. I got scared and started crying and my parents told me it would be ok and they would keep me safe. I was only 7 at the time but I remember it very clearly. It is a shame that people do not know their history and are so cavalier about who will be our commander in chief.

[HuckleB]

4. That had to be horrific!

I can only imagine. My first memory of news is at about the same age, but it was Nixon's resignation speech. Not particularly terrifying, but just weird.

What the OP did remind my of was a repeated nightmare I had in the early '80s, of me riding my bike, delivering newspapers, turning the corner, and seeing nuclear missiles taking off. Luckily, night sweats weren't all bad in Phoenix.

[Hydra]

5. Statistically, as long as they are there, something will eventually happen

But fear not! We will evolve to space based weapons and super-biologicals. There are always bigger ways to kill each other for us to find.