Currently, there are over 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Out of 196 countries, only nine possess nuclear weapons. And more than 90% of the world's nukes are owned by just two countries: the United States and Russia.
A 2014 report published in the journal Earth's Future found that even a regional war of 100 nuclear detonations would produce 5 teragrams of ash (that's 5,000,000,000 kg) that would rise up to Earth's stratosphere and block sunlight. This would produce a sudden drop in global temperatures that could last longer than 25 years and temporarily destroy much of the Earth's protective ozone layer. This could also cause as much as an 80% increase in UV radiation on Earth's surface and destroy both land and sea-based ecosystems, potentially leading to global nuclear famine.
ABOVE: APRIL 20, 2017, Images have emerged showing Russia preparing children for war as the threat of global nuclear conflict looms large
Fifth-grade students of the General Yermolov Cadet School wear gas masks during their first military tactical exercise on the ground, which includes radiation resistance classes, forest survival studies and other activities, in Stavropol, Russia.
NO COUNTRY on Earth would survive a nuclear war between the US and Russia Vladimir Putin has said.
A U.S.-Russia Nuclear War Would Leave No Survivors
NEWSWEEK, JUNE 7,2017
"Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the idea that the U.S. would claim victory in a conflict with Russia, noting that “nobody would survive” such a clash.
Speaking to U.S. movie director Oliver Stone for The Putin Interviews, a four-part series on Showtime, Putin shared a negative view of U.S. military action and its NATO alliance.
"NATO is a mere instrument of U.S. foreign policy,” Putin says in a clip of the interview, aired by the Showtime channel. “It has no allies, it has only vassals. Once a country becomes a NATO member, it is hard to resist the pressures of the United States."
Troubled by Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO has reoriented resources to defend allies near Russia. The Kremlin has vowed to respond with its own deployments and argued the move is aggressive.
“In this case we have to take countermeasures,” Putin tells Stone. “We have to aim our missile systems at the facilities that are threatening us. The situation becomes more tense.”
In 2015, the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council Yevgeny Lukyanov warned that countries that accept the U.S. missile shield system “ automatically become targets ” for Russia."
WAR GAMES
RUSSIA INTERCEPTED A U.S. B-52 STRATEGIC BOMBER OVER THE BALTIC SEA AND A NORWEGIAN P-3 ORION PATROL PLANE OVER THE BARENTS SEA ON JUNE 6, 2017 , WEEKS AFTER THE U.S. INTERCEPTED TWO RUSSIAN TU-95 BOMBERS AND TWO ACCOMPANYING SU-35 FIGHTER JETS NEAR ALASKA ON MAY 2.
A FULLY ARMED RUSSIAN SUKHOL SU-30 FIGHTER JET BUZZED A U.S. SPY PLANE OVER CRIMEA ON MAY 10, COMING WITHIN 20 FEET OF THE U.S. AIRCRAFT, ACCORDING TO THE PENTAGON.
On May 2nd, the U.S. deployed two F-22 Raptor fighters.jets to intercept two Russian Tu-95 bombers accompanied by two Su-35 fighters that flew near the Alaskan coast, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) says.
This was the first time in several years that Russian bombers flying by were accompanied by fighter aircraft, officials said.
Russian military aircraft flew four flights near Alaska in four consecutive days the week of April 17, triggering various responses by NORAD.
Regarding the May 10th incident, the Russian Defense Ministry said the Su-30 jet carried out a "greeting maneuver," and after that the U.S. surveillance plane changed its course and flew away from the Russian border. The Russian aircraft flew within 80 kilometers of the Alaskan coastline
"The incidents on June 6 came a day after Montenegro formally joined NATO, becoming its 29th member in a move that produced an angry reaction from Russia."
Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe reports that Russia, Serbia, Belarus Hold Third 'Slavic Brotherhood' Military Drills.
"More than 300 Russian, 400 Belarusian, and 50 Serbian troops are taking part in the maneuvers, which are scheduled to end on June 14.
Russian Il-76MD military transport planes and Belarusian military aircraft are taking part in the exercises.
The drills near Poland, a NATO and European Union member, began a day after Montenegro became the Western military alliance's 29th member."
THINGS HEAT UP.
RUMORS OF SWEDEN JOINING NATO HAVE SET OFF A FIRESTORM, OBVIOUSLY.
THIS COMES AFTER SEVERAL CLASHES BETWEEN THE U.S. AND RUSSIA IN AND NEAR SYRIA, AFTER RUSSIA'S PLEDGE TO JOIN CHINA FOR "EXERCISES" IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
IN JANUARY THIS YEAR,
AS REUTERS REPORTED APRIL 8, 2017:
"Russia warned on Friday that U.S. cruise missile strikes on a Syrian air base could have "extremely serious" consequences,
They [U.S. missile strikes against Syrian air base] catapulted Washington into confrontation with Russia, which has advisers on the ground aiding its close ally Assad.
"We strongly condemn the illegitimate actions by the U.S. The consequences of this for regional and international stability could be extremely serious,” Russia's deputy U.N. envoy, Vladimir Safronkov, told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev charged that the U.S. strikes were one step away from clashing with Russia's military."
ADD TO THIS THE STRANGE ALLIANCE RUSSIA HAS WITH IRAN.
VOICE OF AMERICA, JANUARY 11, 2017
"After the 1979 overthrow of the shah, "No East, No West" was a popular refrain in Iran, but in the past few years an alliance — at times shaky — between Moscow and Tehran has developed. Since 2014, Iranian-Russian ties have strengthened as the pair closely coordinated battlefield efforts to save Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a mutual ally.
Last August, Iran allowed Russia the use of one of its air bases for airstrikes inside Syria. The country's defense minister, Hossein Dehghan, has visited Moscow half a dozen times in the past three years.
Some Iranian hard-liners, who point to past Russian double-dealing, have publicly worried that Russian President Vladimir Putin could side with Trump in the event the incoming U.S. president decides to rip up the nuclear deal — especially if Washington offers, in exchange, recognition of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
"Russia has more financially to gain with the deal being in place, or at the very least the arms embargo being lifted in a few short years," said Boris Zilberman, an analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "They are lining up billions in arms deals."
RUSSIA AND TURKEY HAVE 'KISSED AND MADE UP' ...OR AT LEAST FOR NOW THEY HAVE.
REUTERS, May 3, 2017
"President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia's relationship with Turkey had fully recovered after what he called a crisis caused by caused by Ankara's shooting down of a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in 2015.
"Some time ago our bilateral ties, as it well known, were tested. Now we can say with certainty remark that the recovery process in Russo-Turkish ties is complete," Putin told a news conference. "We are getting back to a normal cooperative partnership."
Putin said Russia would launch a joint investment fund with Turkey with funds of up to $1 billion and said Moscow stood ready to help Turkey improve security measures at its tourist resorts."
TURKEY'S MADMAN, ERDOGAN, CONTROLS THE NUCLEAR ARSENAL THE U.S. HAS AT ITS LARGE AIR BASE IN INCIRLIK, TURKEY. HE HAS, IN THE RECENT PAST, CUT OFF ELECTRICITY TO THE FACILITY, PUT IT ON LOCK-DOWN, AND EFFECTIVELY CONTROLLED MILITARY PERSONNEL STATIONED THERE AFTER BLAMING THE U.S. FOR THE ALLEGED COUP ATTEMPT LAST YEAR.
EVEN MORE RECENTLY, HE WARNED THE U.S. THAT HE WOULD CONDUCT TURKISH MILITARY STRIKES ON U.S. TROOPS WHO ARE EMBEDDED WITH KURDISH FORCES IN SYRIA.
RUSSIA IS CORRECT WHEN THEIR PRESIDENT AND OFFICIALS STATE THAT NATO IS PRESSING FOR CONFRONTATION.
RUSSIA HAS NO MILITARILY RATIONAL CHOICE BUT TO MOVE WEAPONS TO ITS BORDERS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE U.S. HAS ARMED ITS NATO ALLIES.
NO NATION, FACED WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS AT ITS BORDERS WOULD JUST SIT QUIETLY AND DO NOTHING.
IT'S A MUTUAL DILEMMA, A MUTUALLY AGGRESSIVE STANCE.
THE SABER-RATTLING GETS LOUDER EVERY DAY.
THE CRY OF THE "RUSSIANS ARE COMING!" HAS REACHED FEVER PITCH ALL OVER EUROPE, ENCOURAGED, OF COURSE, BY THE U.S. WHICH IS ITSELF CAUGHT UP IN AN EVER-GROWING "RUSSIAN-TRUMP CONSPIRACY" HYSTERIA WHICH IT HAS PASSED ON TO NATO ALLIES.
DAILY IN THE U.S. WE ARE WARNED HOW DANGEROUS RUSSIA IS, TO NATIONAL SECURITY, TO AMERICAN CITIZENS AND TO THE WORLD.
THE 'COLD WAR' WAS MILD COMPARED TO THIS NEW HEATED ASSAULT VIA U.S. NUKES IN/NEAR SYRIA AND U.S. NUKES SPREAD ALL ALONG RUSSIA'S BORDERS WITH NATO ALLIES.
THE U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE IN 150 NATIONS OUT OF 195 (PLUS TAIWAN)THAT EXIST ON EARTH.
CNN HAD A TABLE, SIX PAGES LONG, OF U.S. MILITARY DEPLOYMENTS AS OF 2011, BUT THEY DO NOT INCLUDE U.S. MILITARY AT SEA AND DID NOT INCLUDE U.S. FORCES IN SYRIA.
OT TAKES FOREVER TO LOAD AND IS SLUGGISH, BUT THE SAME TABLE CAN BE ACCESSED AT THE INTERNET 'WAYBACK MACHINE' AND IS MUCH EASIER TO ADVANCE THROUGH ... GO <HERE>.
WHAT IS EXTREMELY ODD IS THAT AMERICA HAS TROOPS STATIONED IN RUSSIA...AND CHINA.
EMBASSY TROOPS, MAYBE?
"The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with over 300,000 of its active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories.
[T]he United States still maintains nearly 800 foreign military bases.
Britain, France and Russia, by contrast, have about 30 foreign bases combined.
[SOURCE IS A PDF, INSTANT DOWNLOAD]
SEE ALSO "Counts of Active Duty and Reserve Service Members and APF Civilians By Location Country, Personnel Category, Service and Component (as of December 31, 2016)". Defense Manpower Data Center. February 27, 2017.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS AN XLSX FILE THAT COMES WITH 'SECURITY WARNINGS" BY MOST BROWSERS DUE TO "MISCONFIGURATION" OF THAT WEBSITE.
Russia is listed as having ground troops in 10 foreign nation, but the majority are stationed in former Soviet Republics.
THE INCREDIBLE RECENT BUILDUP OF NATO FORCES ALONG RUSSIA'S BORDERS CAN BE SEEN IN A MAP AND ARTICLE <HERE> BY THE INDEPENDENT, U.K.
ESTONIA, LATVIA, LITHUANIA, POLAND, ROMANIA AND BULGARIA ... EACH OF THOSE NATIONS IS AFFORDED ACCESS TO U.S. NUCLEAR WARHEADS.
U.S. MAINSTREAM MEDIA DOES ALL IT CAN TO FAN THE FLAMES AND INCITE A RUSSIA-U.S. MILITARY CONFRONTATION...LIKE THIS, FROM HUFFINGTON POST IN 2016:
Taking War Seriously: a Russia-NATO Showdown Is No Longer Just ..
"The aim of Russian policy is to persuade them [bordering nations] that, inside or outside the EU and NATO, they lie in a grey zone and should behave accordingly. To this end, military-force groups with a capacity to seize Riga and Tallinn in 60 hours are an asset, even if it would be folly to employ them in practice. Until NATO takes steps to rectify the military balance, Russia will use fear as a weapon to undermine the political balance.
But what is the risk that the Baltics will be attacked militarily? Since NATO cannot know, it must not allow a dangerous imbalance of forces to arise. Unfortunately, it already has arisen. From 1991 to 2008, the West believed there would be no military threats in Europe, and national armed forces were restructured accordingly. The impact of the Georgian war on these orthodoxies was minimal. But Crimea’s annexation has launched an intellectual revolution. Those at its cutting edge are realists who know that vulnerabilities cannot be repaired by summit declarations and band-aids."
RIIIIGHT...LET'S NOT HAVE DETENTE, REASON, DISCUSSION, BUT JUST JUMP ON THAT OLD MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX BANDWAGON THAT WE HAVE TO CONTINUALLY, INCESSANTLY PREPARE FOR ALL-OUT WORLD WAR THREE.
HERE'S THE TRUTH... IT WOULD TAKE VERY FEW NUCLEAR WARHEADS BEING DETONATED ON THIS SMALL PLANET TO CREATE UTTER DEVASTATION...MAYBE AS FEW AS 100 WOULD DO IT. MAYBE LESS...WE CANNOT KNOW FOR SURE AS WE'VE NEVER HAD RECIPROCAL NUCLEAR STRIKES.
THERE WOULD BE FAR MORE THAN 100 LAUNCHED IF WE WENT TO WAR WITH EITHER RUSSIA OR CHINA.
AS I WROTE EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE U.S. ABSOLUTELY CANNOT DEFEND US AGAINST RUSSIAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
IT'S LIKELY RUSSIA COULD NOT INTERCEPT ALL THAT WOULD BE LAUNCHED AGAINST IT.
WHILE RUSSIA HAS BEEN QUITE BUSY BUILDING UNDERGROUND FACILITIES FOR ITS CITIZENS IN CASE OF NUCLEAR ATTACK, WE HERE IN THE U.S. HAVE NO SUCH HIDING PLACES,
WE'RE ON OUR OWN IN CASE OF NUCLEAR ATTACK.
NEWSWEEK ADMITTED IN APRIL THIS YEAR THAT THE ARMS RACE IS OVER AND RUSSIA WON.
FOR THE "COMMON" PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS, IT SEEMS WE ARE AT THE MERCY OF OF OUR LEADERS, ALL OF WHOM SEEM HELL-BENT ON PLAYING THAT "KING OF THE HILL" GAME FOR GLOBAL DOMINANCE.
WE WHO DO NOT WISH TO PLAY SUCH A DEADLY GAME CAN ONLY HOPE SANITY TAKES HOLD AND LOGIC PREVAILS.
MUTUAL DESTRUCTION IS NOT AN ANSWER TO WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS WORLD.
IT WOULD BEHOOVE ALL NATIONS TO JUST STAY OUT OF THE AFFAIRS OF THEIR 'NEIGHBORS', TO JUST USE THEIR RESOURCES TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME, TO ELIMINATE THE DRIVE FOR ONE-UPMANSHIP, TO STOP PRETENDING ANY NATION WOULD ABE A WINNER IN A NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST.
IF ANY NATION UNLEASHED HELL ON ANOTHER, HELL WOULD BE REDEFINED QUICKLY AND FEW, IF ANY, WOULD BE LEFT ALIVE TO PASS ON THE REALITY OF WHAT NUCLEAR WAR REALLY MEANS.
THAT NINE NATIONS CAN, AT ANY MOMENT IN TIME, CATAPULT THE ENTIRE PLANET'S OTHER 186 NATIONS INTO A NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE IS WRONG, BUT THAT'S THE WAY IT IS.
WE CAN HOPE FOR SANITY TO PREVAIL, BUT WE'VE ALL SEEN THAT OUR LEADERS AND SOME OF OUR OWN PEOPLE JUST DON'T LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN ALL-OUT NUCLEAR WAR BEFORE.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT EFFECT THE DETONATION OF HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS WOULD HAVE ON THIS PLANET, EITHER IN THE SHORT TERM OR THE LONG.
I, FOR ONE, SINCERELY HOPE AND PRAY WE NEVER FIND OUT.
PAX VOBISCUM, MY FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS...PEACE.
//WW
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