'Nuclear weapons: an accident waiting to happen'

[AdamSmith]

One more delightful frolic through the history of nuclear doctrine, and the many more than generally reported near misses with disaster from one cause or another over the decades.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/14/nuclear-weapons-accident-waiting-to-happen

[RA1]

I am much more worried about pols with their fingers on the trigger than I am an accident. Today, I think an accident scattering radioactive material is much more likely than a nuclear explosion. Naturally, I am not in favor of any of the above.

Looking back at our world wide crude experimentation with nukes it surely is a wonder we did not either blow many of us up or spread radioactive contamination that would last many generations. I remember the Strontium 90 that circled the world a few times back when above ground testing was still going on. Silly us. Will we ever learn?

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest EXPAT]

Unless of course you are watching a past season of "24". . .

[MsGuy]

A serious argument can be made that the existence of nuclear weapons prevented WWIII between the Soviet Union and the USA.

potential casus belli:

1) Possibly the USSR put up with that silly but embarrassing Berlin airlift because of nukes. One would think that they had already calculated US ground forces were incapable of forcing an opening before starting the blockade.

2) Other than nuclear weapons, one wonders why the Soviets didn't try to advance their frontier to the Rhine sometime in the 50's or 60's.

3) Again, other than nuclear weapons, one wonders why the US failed to take advantage of the collapse of governments in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and, repeatedly, Poland.