<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Nuke spook</h2>

It is the 21st Century's D-DayThe largest amphibious invasion in the history of war. On 6 June 1944, the Allies landed 150,000 troops on five beaches in Normandy, France. . One of either the US or Russia launches a nuclear missile towards its adversaryEnemy or opponent. . Instantly, it has been detected, and the other side has fired back. Major cities on opposite corners of the globe are struck within minutes.

Each impact creates a fireball as hot as the core of the sun. This is followed by a nuclear mushroom cloud tall enough to penetrate the stratosphereA layer of the atmosphere which extends for 31 miles above the Earth's surface.. In the short range, every living thing is vaporisedTurned into vapour. .

Blast waves submerge the surrounding area in flames. Firestorms engulf whole cities. Radiation exposure kills for countless miles around. But that is only the beginning of the damage.

In the years that follow, the Earth is plunged into a nuclear winter caused by the thick black carbon smoke from nuclear firestorms. Temperatures decline by as much as 20 or even 30 degrees Celsius.

A recent scientific paper suggested that this apocalypseA Christian name for the end of the world. Descended from a Greek word meaning uncover, it was used to describe the Biblical book of Revelation. scenario could lead to the deaths of over five billion people, including around 99% of those living in the US, Russia, Europe and China.¹

It is spine-chilling and terrifying to consider. But some say that it is moving beyond the realm of the dystopianRelating to an imagined society where there is great suffering or injustice.  and into the real.

This week, the United States has informed Congress and its European allies that Russia is developing a space-based nuclear missile which could bring down America's entire satellite network, crippling the US' military capacity.

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 bans the use of nuclear weapons in space and precludes any use of the moon and other celestialRelating to the sky or space. bodies for any non-peaceful purpose. The then-Soviet UnionOfficially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991. signed and ratifiedFormally approved. the agreement, but Putin has dropped many old agreements in recent years.

There are believed to be around 12,500 nuclear warheadsThe device containing nuclear materials, fitted onto a missile, torpedo or bomb. in the world, with almost 90% owned by Russia and the US. Together, they could spell the extinction of the human race.

Following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has repeatedly spoken of the risk of nuclear war. Admitting that he has put Russia's nuclear deterrentSomething that prevents people from doing something by making them afraid of what will happen to them if they do it. on high alert, the president stated that the consequences of those who stood in his country's way would be "such as you have never seen in your entire history".²

Some say that we will never see peace until we lay down our own arms. Nuclear weapons are more powerful than tools of warfare were ever supposed to be. The only solution is to rid ourselves of them, and to climb out from under their shadow.

It is like Chekhov's gun. If there is a rifle in the first act of a play, the principle states, it will be fired later in the plot. For as long as we have nuclear weapons, it is inevitable that they will be used.

And they come at a high cost. Spending related to nuclear weapons has risen exponentially, even as our nuclear arsenalsCollections of weapons. have decreased.³ According to some estimates, we spent $1,000 billion of public money on nuclear weapons in the decade of 2010 to 2020.⁴

But for others, our nuclear power lies not in the weapons themselves, but in our ability to make them. That knowledge has been unleashed on the world, and it can never be taken back. Banning nuclear missiles would not guarantee that world powers would not clandestinelySecretly, or without being observed or noticed. continue to manufacture them; but it would guarantee that we had no defence against them.

Should all nukes be destroyed?

Yes: They are expensive, dangerous, and for as long as we have them, we are bound to use them at some point. Our priority should be getting together to rid ourselves of them entirely.

No: The nukes are not the problem. The fact that we know how to make them is. For now, paradoxically, the safest option is to have more nuclear weapons so that nobody feels they could deploy their arsenal without retribution.

Or... There are better peace-building initiatives that we could support which would eradicate the root cause - i.e. the likelihood of war, rather than the weapons with which it is fought.

D-day - The largest amphibious invasion in the history of war. On 6 June 1944, the Allies landed 150,000 troops on five beaches in Normandy, France.

Adversary - Enemy or opponent.

Stratosphere - A layer of the atmosphere which extends for 31 miles above the Earth's surface.

Vaporised - Turned into vapour.

Apocalypse - A Christian name for the end of the world. Descended from a Greek word meaning uncover, it was used to describe the Biblical book of Revelation.

Dystopian - Relating to an imagined society where there is great suffering or injustice. 

Celestial - Relating to the sky or space.

Soviet Union - Officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). A powerful group of communist republics, the biggest being Russia, that existed from 1922 to 1991.

Ratified - Formally approved.

Warheads - The device containing nuclear materials, fitted onto a missile, torpedo or bomb.

Deterrent - Something that prevents people from doing something by making them afraid of what will happen to them if they do it.

Arsenals - Collections of weapons.

Clandestinely - Secretly, or without being observed or noticed.