Monday 4 September 2017

"Good" Bombs and "Bad" Bombs.

South Korea has conducted a missile drill simulating an attack on the North Korean nuclear site, in response to Pyongyang's as the threat of the use of nuclear weapons either by North Korea or against them gtos nearer.
The live-fire exercise saw rockets launched from fighter jets and ballistic missiles from the ground.
It came as US defence chief James Mattis warned that any threat to the US or its allies by Pyongyang would be met with a "massive military response".
"Any threat to the United States or its territories - including Guam - or our allies will be met with a massive military response, a response both effective and overwhelming."
 However, he said the hope was for denuclearisation, 

"because we are not looking to the total annihilation of a country, namely North Korea".
The North says it tested a hydrogen bomb that can fit a long-range missile.
Pyongyang has repeatedly defied UN sanctions and international pressure by developing nuclear weapons and testing missiles, and the provocations have only intensified.
In the past two months it has conducted intercontinental ballistic missile tests,sending one over mainland Japan into the Pacific Ocean. It has also threatened to send missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam.
Don't get me wrong North Korea is an unstable state and the thought of them having "Weapons of mass destruction leaves me cold".

But so does the US rhetoric and the idea that you can have a "Good Bomb" rather than a "Bad Bomb" seems to be ridiculous.

The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss its response.

Also the deterrent  argument surely can't hold up if those who currently have Nuclear capability claim that no one-else will be allowed to do so.

Would the West have invaded Iraq if  Saddam Hussein had developed Nuclear capabilities.

The false claim that he had Weapons of Mass destruction was the main excuse  to invade.

But if you are a state that finds itself in conflict with a Western Alliance or Russian for that matter perhaps the idea of developing a nuclear Offensive/Defence  capability to be used to threaten any potential invasion would be strong.

The following is a list of states that have admitted the possession of nuclear weapons or are presumed to possess them, the approximate number of warheads under their control, and the year they tested their first weapon and their force configuration. This list is informally known in global politics as the "Nuclear Club".[ With the exception of Russia and the United States (which have subjected their nuclear forces to independent verification under various treaties) these figures are estimates, in some cases quite unreliable estimates.
CountryWarheads (Deployed/Total)[nb 1]Date of first testTest site of first testCTBTstatusDelivery methods
The five nuclear-weapon states under the NPT
 United States1,800 / 6,800[1]16 July 1945 ("Trinity")Alamogordo, New MexicoSignatory[13]Nuclear triad[14]
 Russia1,950 / 7,000[1]29 August 1949 ("RDS-1")SemipalatinskKazakhstanRatifier[13]Nuclear triad[15]
 United Kingdom120 / 215[1]3 October 1952 ("Hurricane")Monte Bello IslandsAustraliaRatifier[13]Sea-based[16][nb 2]
 France280 / 300[1]13 February 1960 ("Gerboise Bleue")Sahara desert, French AlgeriaRatifier[13]Sea- and air-based[17][nb 3]
 China ? / 270[1]16 October 1964 ("596")Lop NurXinjiangSignatory[13]Suspected nuclear triad.[18][19]
Non-NPT nuclear powers
 India0 / 110–120[1]18 May 1974 ("Smiling Buddha")Pokhran,RajasthanNon-signatory[13]Nuclear triad[20][21][22][23][24]
Pakistan0 / 120–130[1]28 May 1998 ("Chagai-I")Ras Koh HillsBalochistanNon-signatory[13]Land and air-based.[25][26]
 North Korea0 / ? [1]9 October 2006[27]KiljuNorth HamgyongNon-signatory[13]Suspected land and sea-based.[28]
Undeclared nuclear powers
 Israel0 / 80[1][29][30]1960–1979[31] incl. suspected Vela Incident[32]UnknownSignatory[13]Suspected nuclear triad.[33][34]


It could well be argued maybe  emphasised that the election of Donald Trump, has pushed the US into the "Unstable " category.

Any Nuclear strike by any state for any reason retaliatory  or preemptive will completely  destroy the deterrence  argument and certainly mean that Israel could use it as a justification and  certainly mean India or Pakistan may consider this option in the future.

We are on the brink of a appalling the use of of Nuclear Weapons on human targets since their first use in  1945.

There is no Good Bomb or Bad Bomb we must move to the complete destruction of these weapons everywhere , before they destroy us all.

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