Ready-to-launch nuclear weapons pose grave risk, say former defence chiefs
Source: Guardian
Action to limit the risks of a deliberate or even accidental nuclear attack is insufficient, a pan-global group of political, military and diplomatic figures has warned.
Ready-to-launch nuclear weapons mean the risk of an accidental strike by a nation state is high, while insecure stockpiles could be targeted by terrorists, the European Leadership Network said.
In a letter ahead of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, British signatories including former defence secretaries Lord Browne and Lord King, former home secretary Charles Clarke and Lord Richards, former chief of the defence staff, said all states should redouble efforts to work toward a world without nuclear weapons.
They said: We believe the risks posed by nuclear weapons and the international dynamics that could lead to nuclear weapons being used are underestimated or insufficiently understood by world leaders.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/08/ready-to-launch-nuclear-weapons-pose-grave-risk-say-former-defence-chiefs
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)kill whomever is left.
Just because everyone is dead is no good reason to stop having war, is it?
longship
(40,416 posts)A pretty damned good flick, albeit one of 1970, when the Cold War still smoldered.
Apparently Ron Howard wants to remake this film -- why, oh why does Hollywood have such little imagination? And the star? Yup! Wil Smith. Maybe he will yet again give support staff for the movie coupons for free Scientology screenings, as if it were a gift.
This is a movie, like The Day the Earth Stood Still, like The Invasion of the Body Snatchers that is begging for a remake. NOT!
That it is being championed by none other than Ron Howard is shameful. Such a plot has no cultural relevance today. The only way this will be produced is to utterly throw out the story, apply the Forbin label to it, and add Wil Smith to promote the inevitable gloss and mayhem, undoubtedly with grandiose music accompaniment. Maybe they can get that hack composer Johnny Williams, if he is still alive.
Oy!
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)Thanks for that.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, since 1947, has published their iconic doomsday clock. The closest it has come to midnight is 11:58, two minutes to go, in 1953 with the development of the fusion bomb, the H-bomb.
Here is the timeline of the clock.
http://thebulletin.org/timeline
I think with recent scandals in the nuclear weapon administration in the USA the minute hand might be soon moving toward midnight again.
It remains at 11:55 as of now.
Sleep well, my friends.
Hoppy
(3,595 posts)You see, in order for our missile mounted, nuclear weapons to fire, they have to be armed. There is a specially configured wrench which is needed to arm those weapons. Only one of these wrenches exists. When used for practice, it is flown from base to base using Fed. Ex.
Don't worry. I remember seeing the Fed Ex commercial by Steve Irwin when Steve was bitten by a deadly snake. Steve depended on Fed Ex to deliver anti-venom on time in case of emergencies.
HoosierCowboy
(561 posts)Is for bolting the warheads onto the "Bus" that holds them on top of the missile. There is only one set for the entire missile force, to deter the possibility that those warheads could be removed by operators trying to steal them.
It's easier to get into Fort Knox.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)US weapons are currently targeting the middle of the oceans. So an accidental launch would vaporize a bunch of water.
Russian weapons, OTOH, can not be easily retargeted. The targets are apparently hardwired. No idea about the other nuclear powers's weapons.