The Lingering Dangers of MAD

"Does history repeat itself? Seems it does. By the way, if you have not yet bunkered up a bit, this might be a great time to do so. The storm clouds have gathered and the ship might be about to hit the sand. Stronger message to follow. Stay tuned." 

Where do I begin? One of my liberal friends accused me of perseverating on the Norks. Well, try doing what I did in the Navy for 21 years and not practice perseveration when it comes dangerous world events. First, for those who have not heard it, I will repeat the big news for the day. For those who have heard it, please bear with me.

The Washington Post today announced it has on good authority from the Defense Department the Norks now have as many as 60 bombs. 60? I thought they just had a handful? Anyhow, the number might be a bit less, but it is impressively frightening in the short time how many they have had to produce them. Plus - here is the money line - they now have some of them miniaturized enough to ride on top of an ICBM. In other words, after their last missile test, an ICBM, and now knowing about their nukes, they have crossed the finish line. They are a full fledged nuclear power, with missiles and bombs ready to use. Oh, one more thing. Their missiles can be launched from subs.

Before Ronald Reagan outspent and bluffed the Soviets into a Cold War type of surrender, the thing which experts thought kept us all safe from annihilation was MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). Did it do the job? Maybe. Well, we did not blow ourselves up. But it might have had an unforeseen consequences. Knowing the other side would not dare launch against us, might have lulled us into a false sense of security.

Why do I say that? Our missile defenses are spotty. They are better than having nothing, but unless our guys (and gals) at the Pentagon have other stuff in the closet they have not told us about, our chances of knocking out a missile go anywhere from maybe to probably. What I was hoping to hear was ABSOLUTELY - NOTHING GETS THROUGH!  And I have not heard that as yet.

If we had not used MAD as our deterrent, Reagan's Star Wars idea might have ended up with more teeth in it. The Homing Overlay Experiment (which I worked on) might have ended up being like the "Iron Shield" that Israel uses. Instead, we have only a wind and a prayer in our missile defenses.

One thought I had this afternoon as I was coming back from my errands. China. Everyone talks about how worthless China has been in dealing with the Norks. And they have been that and so much more.

What if China was located west of North Korea, instead of east? If there was a nuclear exchange with the United States, the fallout would affect China also. Just a question to ponder. Where China is situated right now, is a very good spectator (and safe) spot. 

Something to think about when you do your weekly grocery shopping. The only time our generals and Pentagon planners would EVER consider a first strike with our nuclear forces, is if there was no other way out. I think we are either at that point or very close to getting there. This nut ball in North Korea we are dealing with is unstable enough to launch. If he does, the world will change. Even if none of his missiles hits the US, the world will change. And North Korea will cease to exist. Forever. 

Tomorrow, if I can remember, I will re-publish some of the kind remarks Bill Clinton said in 1994. How we, through proper negotiations (and a boat load of cash), have eliminated the Nork nuclear threat. We were good to go. It was Noble Peace Prize time! It is very similar to the Obama "deal" he made with the blood thirsty Mullahs in Iran. That deal will come back to bite us in the other cheek very soon (if we survive the Nork threat).

Does history repeat itself? Seems it does. By the way, if you have not yet bunkered up a bit, this might be a great time to do so. The storm clouds have gathered and the ship might be about to hit the sand. Stronger message to follow. Stay tuned.