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The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) has set the Doomsday Clock to "two minutes to midnight" to reflect fears of a nuclear confrontation with North Korea, as well as the failure of world leaders to address climate change and other factors. The clock is now set as close to doomsday as it was in 1953:
The team of scientists singled out a series of nuclear tests by North Korea. They dramatically escalated tensions on the Korean peninsula and led to a war of words between North Korea and the US.
The BAS also referred to a new US nuclear strategy that was expected to call for more funding to expand the role of the country's nuclear arsenal. Rising tension between Russia and the West was also a contributing factor.
The "weakening of institutions" around the world in dealing with major global threats - including climate change - was another major concern, the scientists said. They also mentioned US President Donald Trump's "unpredictability", pointing to his often controversial tweets and statements.
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(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday January 26 2018, @06:18PM (4 children)
Exactly. Open that door and it becomes available to all nuke holders. Pakistan hits India. Iran hits Israel, (yes both sides have them - regardless of what they claim).
Once anyone cedes the moral high ground, the tactical nuke will be the got-to-have weapon for every threatened state.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Friday January 26 2018, @06:40PM (3 children)
I'm more concerned about the counters to the tactical nuke. The tactical nuke is relatively nondestructive when it comes to nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. For example, North Korea has a counter to the use of nuclear weapons by the US or South Korea in the massed artillery pointed at Seoul.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday January 26 2018, @11:18PM (2 children)
True, but that artillery is defeated within an hour or two at most. MOAB was made for this.
But lacking that, any standard air support makes this an unlikely tactic.
What you have to worry about is nuclear artillery.
If the NK ever had any old Soviet versions, they could make their own easier than making rockets.
At the end of the Cold War, Russia followed the United States lead and deactivated its nuclear artillery units in 1993. By 2000, Russia reported that nearly all nuclear artillery shells and missile warheads had been destroyed. But the Kim Family has been around a long time.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday January 27 2018, @02:54AM
By what? Even tactical nukes and MOAB aren't that effective against hundreds or thousands of deeply dug in positions. You would need a bunch of them and something to deliver them. In Iraq both in the Gulf War and the Iraqi invasion, with much better visibility for air to ground combat, it took several days to obtain uncontested air superiority. That would be needed for the MOAB because MOAB can only be dropped by the B-52 which doesn't do well against relatively modern air defenses. Meanwhile the B-2 can only be flown out of specialized hangars. Apparently, Guam has those now, but that's still several hours between sortie.
Or chemical and biological weapons. They're not as effective as nuclear weapons for killing people in a targeted, but they are adequate for indiscriminate killing of civilians.
(Score: 2) by Wootery on Tuesday January 30 2018, @02:17PM
Absolutely not. They have a huge volume of conventional artillery pieces, many of them concealed. There's no way on Earth you'd take them all out in good time with airstrikes. If it came to it, Seoul would be obliterated. There's no question about this.