In today’s world there are estimated 5,000 nuclear warheads in the United States arsenal alone. One out of three warheads is past their “expected” life expectancy and as time goes on pose extreme environmental issues as to where to put them as they are rotated out of the arsenal. Not to mention that the delivery systems may be brittle due to rusted decay, corrosion, and other maladies of age. There is even a plan to upgrade them so they may be kept in service. When they were first developed they were built under the adage that the other side would be MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) to get into a nuclear exchange. That was the “Cold War” mentality, in today’s world there are people that don’t care about MAD they will willing walk into a center of a major population center with a suitcase or a van or a truck depending on the reports of how compact nuclear material can be delivered and obliterate a city of millions as well as themselves.
It is time not to just reign in the spread of nuclear weapons to entities that do not have them but also it is time to get the existing nuclear “powers” to stop using nuclear weapons as some form of deterrent to being attacked by an enemy. The world is no longer in a divide between the ideologies of Communism and Free Enterprise/Democracy it is now small factions of zealots that would prefer to die for their views than to coexist among people of diverse and divergent points of view. By having these weapons and the stockpiled raw materials to make more we invite our next major attack to not be planes flying through buildings, or gas in the subway, or truck bombs at busy intersections but a single fanatical cell to detonate a nuclear package without warning nor care to the repercussions of their actions.
The terrorists need not be of the nation of Islam, they can just as easily be from Zionists, Christians, splinter groups with nationalist agendas, and the list grows. The world with all the technology that has shrunk the world at the same time has fed the concept of intolerance for other points of view. It is time that humanity look inwardly to the fact that no matter what belief system we have we live at this point in time on only one orb travelling in space.
That orb is already so fragile we don’t need the threat of nuclear attacks to intensify the steady march to environmental suicide.
To see the larger image click on the image below:
One In Three
In today’s world there are estimated 5,000 nuclear warheads in the United States arsenal alone. One out of three warheads is past their “expected” life expectancy and as time goes on pose extreme environmental issues as to where to put them as they are rotated out of the arsenal. Not to mention that the delivery systems may be brittle due to rusted decay, corrosion, and other maladies of age.
Lisa Weber, 8 months ago
Excellent testament to the truth. Great writing BySilent as always!
Helene Kippert, 8 months ago
Hear hear Thomas! I agree that we really need to start looking inside ourselves and changing our values as a matter of urgency if we are to survive the next 50 years or so – love the image too
Jen Whyte, 8 months ago
If only the whole world were free and there were no boundaries – no weapons, no armies. If only people could see how wonderful human diversity is and honour and love the difference instead of hating it.
A wonderful piece of writing.
PhotogeniquE IPA, 8 months ago
it’s a dichotomy isn’t it. The developed countries saying to those who are just developing nuclear weapons – ‘well, you aren’t allowed to have them’.
Same as the Western nations saying to, for instance, China, ‘sorry, you aren’t allowed to have your Industrial Revolution. We’ve had ours and screwed the Planet already!’. What to do? Who put the West in charge? hmmmm. Don’t think the problem is going to go away any time soon though.
You are right about the terrorist groups. There are some very crazy people out there with their hands on some very crazy weaponery, although I would have to say that I don’t believe a true Christian could ever bomb anyone. The same may be true for a true muslim, I just don’t know enough of their theology.
Wendy Slee KMA, 8 months ago
totally disturbing, and more so because we all know it is true.
Rusty Woodward..., 8 months ago
I agree with your tract wholeheartedly. A sobering and profound piece of writing.
Jan Kölling, 8 months ago
excellent piece, thank you for sharing!
velveteagle, 8 months ago
They provide fear to keep the populations distracted. That way they do not have to clean up there own mess. Thinking about your words brings a smile to my face. So true.. But the powers to be do not want to be confused with the facts.. Look on yonder shores at your enemy and fear.. Now they can collect money from you to protect there investments.. emm How true BySilent ..
Gabriella, 8 months ago
I totally agree with you.
Gabrielle
brummieboy, 8 months ago
Thought provoking and so beautifully written ….
angela80, 8 months ago
and those warheads that have been improperly disposed of? I live in a tiny town called spencer, tn..and just recently have notice the usaf have posted signs alerting our county and surrounding counties of nuclear warheads being improperly disposed of and where to call if one were to be found. My husband has seen this destruction, a friend has an active (improperly disposed head) in his living room..so to me, terrorists are home too..even our own country has killed us in some way so to speak..our county has more deaths from cancers than any other county in TN I know for the relative size comparison. It is a very very sad situation the world has been put in..and I often wonder if we’ve waited too late to try and change but close mindedness isn’t born into us..it is taught..and as long as the teachers exist, we will be dangling by a thread…holding our breath…livin on the orb you speak of..:) Wonderfully insightful, terribly true.. granted i may have strayed from the topic, but it does all entwine together in my mind, my thoughts..and no i have no statistics, but I SEE the destruction just as you do..Thank you for this.. :)
Henk Stolk, 8 months ago
We live in a sad world were everyone is controlled by fear.
For me, as a non-American, I just cannot understand why the world let this happen.
For greed, power, control… How much profit was made out of the cold War?
How much profit is made now out of Iraq. How much will be made out of Iran?
It’s sad… About these nuclear weapons.. such easy excuse for yet another Pearl harbor?
Patrick Miller, 8 months ago
Very good point indeed….but bear this in mind…...
The world is running out of oil….and it is closer than you think. “Peak Oil” is the term describing this event. We are already past peak oil production in the world and it will get less every year. No community at least up to now have shown a desire to reduce their energy usage, most notably the United States. The US economy is addicted to growth so much that without it….it will crash. (It may be on its way right now)
The only way possible to meet the energy demands of the world without oil, is by the implementation of “clean coal” technology as described by Bush, (which doesn’t exist) Nuclear power, and renewables…ie..solar, wind geothermal, biomass.
Since the US government does not want renewable energy because the big energy companies can’t control it. (Look at the bottom of the checks that bought the White House for Bush…they say Exxon/Mobil)
That means for the US, France and most of Europe we are going to be building alot of nuclear power stations again and burning alot of coal.
So it may not matter if a missile or two rots in their silos. The planet may at that point be nearly uninhabitable. Although the point is well taken, all major problems must be solved to win the race, because any one of them will kill us just as well as another.
....and in my view it is all about profit, millions will die, millions more suffer, so that 0.5% of the worlds population can be wealthy. If I weren’t a pacifist, I’d say the real solution to this is also the easiest. :)
BySilent, 8 months ago
Patrick,
I am not against nuclear energy just the stockpile of an arsenal that is decaying. I think when the “Oil Man” speaks he speaks from his roots oil. It is time to start to go green and use every possible way to use solar and wind to name just two technologies that will lessen not end our dependency.
The issue I point out in this article is the nuclear weapons powers have stockpiles of potential disasters. There is already evidence of former USSR warheads showing up missing and that should worry us all.
Patrick Miller, 8 months ago
Indeed it should! When a superpower finds themselves hurting for money (ie Soviet Union) you have to wonder how they can keep control over a vast expanse of their arsenal. Their soldiers in charge of guarding them stop being paid. The biggest patriot flag waver in the world sometimes has to “do what they gotta do” when they have a family to feed and no way of doing it.
Helen Bascom KMA, 8 months ago
Outstanding writing and art to illustrate a serious problem faced by the entire planet.
Karen Crozier, 8 months ago
I totally agree with you, well said. You should check out my picture Jackass Politics
PHILLIPEDOAN, 8 months ago
Hello folks: The other scary facts are that Uncle Sam stocks the highest number of nuclear weaponry and second would be his puppet in the Middle East: Zionist Israel. What scares me the most is the eventual diplomatic detrioration preemptive in the Neo-Cons’ imperialistic ambitions would come about; by then, both of these devolved empires’ ruling elites through the Military-Industrial-Media Complex will for certain maximizing their madness via more war and more death and devastation. I SAY IT IS DUE TIME THAT THE UNITED NATIONS OUTLAW THESE WEAPONS, EN TODOS. TODAY, RIGHT NOW AND RIGHT HERE, STARTING WITH THIS FUKKIN’ EMPIRE. LONG LIVES PEACE, JUSTICE AND EQUALITY FOR US HOMOSAPIANS AND ALL OTHER LIFE FORMS INCLUDING OUR EARTH MADRE! LONG LIVES THE REVOLUTION TO CONTINUE THIS FUKKIN’ STRUGGLE. VIVA CHE.
William Jackso..., 5 months ago
Ookokok….great writng first of all…second; great responses to this writing, third; do a google for 2012 and click the ‘video’ link…....wach the video of a speech by Michael Tsarion at the Granada Forum….it is EXCELLENT…..also check out www.zeitgeistmovie.com
Thanks for being smart Bysilent! and thanks for saying something about it!