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"Are they just expecting that all Russian nukes will actually make it to the US?" Russia and the US have something like 5000 nukes each. Many if not all of th

"Are they just expecting that all Russian nukes will actually make it to the US?" Russia and the US have something like 5000 nukes each. Many if not all of those nukes are way more powerful than the ones that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even if only a small fraction of them make it, they'd likely be enough to completely destroy every major city in both countries... and cities are where almost the entire population lives. Plenty of remote areas will likely be hit too, because that's where the missile launch sites and military bases are. All those huge "impregnable" bunkers you see in movies that were supposed to house governments in case of nuclear war were quietly decommissioned because it was realized that they couldn't survive hits from modern nuclear weapons and there's no way to hide them from today's surveillance technology. So in an all-out nuclear war probably most everyone in Russia and the US would die from direct hits.. and that doesn't include knock-on effects from radiation poisoning and fallout, nuclear winter, complete infrastructural and governmental collapse (ie. no clean water to drink, all the animals dead, no food and perhaps even no ability to grow food). As for other countries, I'd read that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the UK general in charge of his country's nuclear arsenal met his Russian counterpart and him whether he thought the movie Threads was an accurate depiction of what would happen in a nuclear war between the two countries. The Russian general laughed and said the entire UK was designated an overkill zone.

mrcheesebreeze 4y ago
yeah people don't seem to understand the reality of nuclear war, how much nations want to avoid it, and that russia isn't a paper tiger like the news claims. Russia is a near equal to america in its nuclear tech and absolutely has the firepower needed to induce MAD back at us. Its the dumbest thing to think for a second that its a good idea to push for any kind of war with russia because it runs the risk of a game over for all nations involved. places like the uk are absolutely done for, the whole island would be a mess.
B1FF_PSUVM 4y ago
> the movie Threads Had to look it up, seems the movie was seen as optimistic ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film): "[...] a dramatic account of nuclear war and its effects in Britain, specifically on the city of Sheffield in Northern England. [...] A third and final attack targets primary economic targets such as the Tinsley Viaduct. This third attack causes massive structural damage to Sheffield; the blast and heat kill an estimated 12 to 30 million people in the U.K. in the wider exchange. [...]"
no_wizard 4y ago
Just reading the Wikipedia synopsis of this films plot I already feel like it’s nightmare material. How on earth we as in humanity want to keep weapons around that would render us this way is still beyond my comprehension. I also don’t know that I want to be a survivor of a nuclear war. I will be honest, don’t think I could handle it. I have dogs and a wife that needs specialized care. Just thinking about the terrible things that could happen to them alone and not even getting into the rest of the people I care about has already managed to depress me now. I’d rather avert circumstances than even risk exchanging nukes
- boppo1 4y ago
  >we as in humanity want to keep weapons around We don't. But it's basically impossible to get rid of them given the existence of incentives.
  - no_wizard 4y ago
    Perhaps it is time we truly change those incentives once and for all. Whatever “effectiveness” nuclear weapons have is not worth it. Rather relegate them to the dust bin of history under “terrible decision, do not recommend, keep away” I realize it’s merely wishful thinking right now but it feels paramount to me
    - boppo1 4y ago
      > we truly change those incentives once and for all. I don't understand how that would be possible.

mrcheesebreeze 4y ago

yeah people don't seem to understand the reality of nuclear war, how much nations want to avoid it, and that russia isn't a paper tiger like the news claims. Russia is a near equal to america in its nuclear tech and absolutely has the firepower needed to induce MAD back at us. Its the dumbest thing to think for a second that its a good idea to push for any kind of war with russia because it runs the risk of a game over for all nations involved. places like the uk are absolutely done for, the whole island would be a mess.

B1FF_PSUVM 4y ago

> the movie Threads Had to look it up, seems the movie was seen as optimistic ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threads_(1984_film): "[...] a dramatic account of nuclear war and its effects in Britain, specifically on the city of Sheffield in Northern England. [...] A third and final attack targets primary economic targets such as the Tinsley Viaduct. This third attack causes massive structural damage to Sheffield; the blast and heat kill an estimated 12 to 30 million people in the U.K. in the wider exchange. [...]"

no_wizard 4y ago

Just reading the Wikipedia synopsis of this films plot I already feel like it’s nightmare material. How on earth we as in humanity want to keep weapons around that would render us this way is still beyond my comprehension. I also don’t know that I want to be a survivor of a nuclear war. I will be honest, don’t think I could handle it. I have dogs and a wife that needs specialized care. Just thinking about the terrible things that could happen to them alone and not even getting into the rest of the people I care about has already managed to depress me now. I’d rather avert circumstances than even risk exchanging nukes

boppo1 4y ago
>we as in humanity want to keep weapons around We don't. But it's basically impossible to get rid of them given the existence of incentives.
- no_wizard 4y ago
  Perhaps it is time we truly change those incentives once and for all. Whatever “effectiveness” nuclear weapons have is not worth it. Rather relegate them to the dust bin of history under “terrible decision, do not recommend, keep away” I realize it’s merely wishful thinking right now but it feels paramount to me
  - boppo1 4y ago
    > we truly change those incentives once and for all. I don't understand how that would be possible.