Is the US better prepared for a nuclear blast today than it was 60 years ago?

[Stomper]

The only thing our government can detect is mean tweets.

Which ARE a threat to our…. "Democracy"!!









Not really…. It builds character.

 

[albin25]

Depends...
If you're Bill Gates, and you want depopulation, then yes....
.... we're well prepared... to have a huge body count

 

[Siglvr]

I'd like to think that what appears to be stupid bungling provocations by our government are actually calculated because we have some hidden overwhelming advantage at this time that makes us invulnerable.

Search "directed energy weapons". Sat mounted lasers could sweep the sky of incoming missiles, likely hit and disable them right after launch. On the other hand, we have an do so much stupid bungling from the .gov elsewhere: fuel, food, baby formula, unfettered illegal immigration, supply chain issues, etc etc that stupid bungling provocations is probably the truth.

But I sleep better thinking they may have this militarily figured out.......

 

[wired]

EMP is a fallacy. To have enough effect you'd practically have to be within the blast zone of a thermonuclear weapon.

 

[Provincial]

EMP is a fallacy. To have enough effect you'd practically have to be within the blast zone of a thermonuclear weapon.

Starfish Prime Wikipedia link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime

900 miles away. 1.4 M. Tons.

 

[wired]

Starfish Prime Wikipedia link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish_Prime

900 miles away. 1.4 M. Tons.

Haha, Yes, if theres some 2 Mt Hydrogen bombs going off wer'e going have to deal with some flickering streetlights among other problems.

 

[Provincial]

Haha, Yes, if theres some 2 Mt Hydrogen bombs going off wer'e going have to deal with some flickering streetlights among other problems.

It knocked out the microwave telephone link, too. I suspect that old microwave systems were pretty durable compared to modern cell phones/towers.

 

[No_Regerts]

I say the US is far more prepared today. Way more idiots to sacrifice than there was in the 60s.

 

[Oro]

I'd like to think that what appears to be stupid bungling provocations by our government are actually calculated because we have some hidden overwhelming advantage at this time that makes us invulnerable.

Search "directed energy weapons". Sat mounted lasers could sweep the sky of incoming missiles, likely hit and disable them right after launch. On the other hand, we have an do so much stupid bungling from the .gov elsewhere: fuel, food, baby formula, unfettered illegal immigration, supply chain issues, etc etc that stupid bungling provocations is probably the truth.

But I sleep better thinking they may have this militarily figured out.......

You are far more correct than you may think.

The chance of a bm leaking through our abm network on the 48 + HI are very, very small. Rus knows this and that's why their sabre-rattling is aimed at the media and western European populations, and not at decision-makers who are "in-the-know."

It is not understood well atm, but our foreign policy actions wrt Ukraine have been brilliant. It will likely go down in history as one of our finest moments since WWII.

 

[ob1]

I think we need to go to defcon 0 right away.
Think of the devastation an enemy first strike would create in our cities,

For example, if Portland were to be hit, we would see a total disintegration of civic order.

The food supply and essential public services would be disrupted. The local government would be transformed into a collection of unorganized, petty ineffective, fragmented and redundant thiefdoms.
Riots, arson, pestilence, disease, famine, absence of basic rights and fear would be the order of the day.
Trash and human waste would bury the streets. Sub-human packs of mutants would rule the city.There would be war and rumors of war.
There would be... ... .

Oh, uh never mind. I was thinking of Friday nights.
Getting nuked might be preferable.

 

[DunRanull]

We've had 30 years to forget about it, now of a sudden it's an issue again. It never really went away insofar as the major powers were concerned. There were still the lesser players who were and are making noise, such as Iran and North Korea. Since the Soviet Union went away, we assumed adults were in charge there which has turned out to be an erroneous assumption.

The lesser players can't do as much damage as the larger ones. A nuke going off in one location where they are able to deliver to would be unfortunate for that community but not a national deal breaker. The big players have much greater delivery capability and once that were to get going, it would be what we dreaded during the (first) Cold War. Which the US was never really properly prepared for then. The only blast shelters extant were reserved for high political and military figures. Inadquate fallout shelters existed in urban areas. The focus was mainly on awareness, not significant survivability. Such initial preparations as were made during the Eisenhower administration fell by the wayside during the Vietnam era. After that, the government found other ways to spend vast sums of money such as social welfare programs.

These days, there isn't much political will (or money) for serious official preparation. It's kind of the "ostrich effect," bury your head in the sand and hope for the best.

In my case, I'm old and fairly fatalistic. Nuclear holocaust would be the end of my constellation of physical ailments. The lives for survivors of a major nuclear combat exchange would have lives forever changed in ways we can only now imagine.

The radiation sickness medications currently under discussion would not avail much comfort for concentrated populations anywhere near targeted regions. The pills might be of use in select areas of lower population against drifting fallout. Meaning, far from detonation sites. Like Chernobyl, where no bomb went off yet there was widespread fallout.

Adults ARE in charge in Russia, it's HERE that I'm concerned about, frankly, but thankfully Milley is retiring.... Putin is no fool, not so sure about the Harris-Biden regime. I don't know that red China would try to pull off anything that blatant YET. NoKo, Iran, private players, those are the ones we need to stay on top of. What would some jihadi group have to lose by EMP-ing us? Theyre suicidal anyway...

 

[DunRanull]

You are far more correct than you may think.

The chance of a bm leaking through our abm network on the 48 + HI are very, very small. Rus knows this and that's why their sabre-rattling is aimed at the media and western European populations, and not at decision-makers who are "in-the-know."

It is not understood well atm, but our foreign policy actions wrt Ukraine have been brilliant. It will likely go down in history as one of our finest moments since WWII.

Meddling in a civil war that is NOOB is "brilliant" or "one of our finest moments"? How is it much different than our fine moment in S Vietnam? We're already at the "adviser" stage if reports are to be believed. The corrupt KIEV regime wants our boots on the ground SO very badly!

 

[Siglvr]

You are far more correct than you may think.

The chance of a bm leaking through our abm network on the 48 + HI are very, very small. Rus knows this and that's why their sabre-rattling is aimed at the media and western European populations, and not at decision-makers who are "in-the-know."

It is not understood well atm, but our foreign policy actions wrt Ukraine have been brilliant. It will likely go down in history as one of our finest moments since WWII.

Well, it is bankrupting our country for no apparent reason: what's the hidden brilliance which we don't see to bail us out of the gaping financial hole the President is creating with this? Where is the brilliance of shutting down our oil production and coal plants but encouraging, via sale of raw materiel, to China all of our coal? China is building a coal plant per week and there are 1039 on the drawing boards in SE Asia (mostly China) in the next thee years. Brilliance?

Next, by most accounts we do not have any counter to low flying cruise missiles. Russia has tested one which could fly around the world at low altitude. What would be the defense against a satellite detonation 300 miles up creating an EMP burst? There is none.

It's been noted that a million monkeys on a million typewriters would eventually compose the complete works of William Shakespeare. I suspect we are witnessing something along those lines, even if we get "Buy the ticket, take the ride" and a few more lines of Hunter Thompsen tossed in there.

 

[Oro]

Meddling in a civil war that is NOOB is "brilliant" or "one of our finest moments"? How is it much different than our fine moment in S Vietnam? We're already at the "adviser" stage if reports are to be believed. The corrupt KIEV regime wants our boots on the ground SO very badly!

Well, it is bankrupting our country for no apparent reason: what's the hidden brilliance which we don't see to bail us out of the gaping financial hole the President is creating with this? Where is the brilliance of shutting down our oil production and coal plants but encouraging, via sale of raw materiel, to China all of our coal? China is building a coal plant per week and there are 1039 on the drawing boards in SE Asia (mostly China) in the next thee years. Brilliance?

Next, by most accounts we do not have any counter to low flying cruise missiles. Russia has tested one which could fly around the world at low altitude. What would be the defense against a satellite detonation 300 miles up creating an EMP burst? There is none.

It's been noted that a million monkeys on a million typewriters would eventually compose the complete works of William Shakespeare. I suspect we are witnessing something along those lines, even if we get "Buy the ticket, take the ride" and a few more lines of Hunter Thompsen tossed in there.

I see thread necrophilia is still a sport.

Dredging up a near year-dead thread to hurl insults is a shameful kind of trolling, especially throwing blatant lies and Kremlin talking points like "civil war."

I am thankful for the forum "ignore" button so I can easily keep an arms-length from the trolls.

But disturbingly, it looks like the Russians have found a way to get their trolls paid again despite the currency sanctions.

 

[Diamondback]

One of my recurring nightmares is a Nuclear Pearl Harbor scenario. Look at how many Chinese container ships are parked up and down both our coasts at any given time, and I know they've been developing a TEL for cruise missiles to fit in a shipping container... all they'd need to do would be salt away enough of 'em in our own ports' Foreign Trade Zones and containeryards and just leave 'em to wait for a trigger signal. Bonus, they can even get BNSF and Union Pacific to move the things to sites inland FOR them and extend the reach... and I would not be surprised if some of their airliners have "special cargo" preplaced and hardwired in the cargo holds for a Starfish 9-11.

Think creatively, if you were China and had a bottomless pit of money and know you're only gonna get ONE shot at the US where it has to be a one-punch knockout, how would YOU do it?

 

[The Heretic]

One of my recurring nightmares is a Nuclear Pearl Harbor scenario. Look at how many Chinese container ships are parked up and down both our coasts at any given time, and I know they've been developing a TEL for cruise missiles to fit in a shipping container... all they'd need to do would be salt away enough of 'em in our own ports' Foreign Trade Zones and containeryards and just leave 'em to wait for a trigger signal. Bonus, they can even get BNSF and Union Pacific to move the things to sites inland FOR them and extend the reach... and I would not be surprised if some of their airliners have "special cargo" preplaced and hardwired in the cargo holds for a Starfish 9-11.

Think creatively, if you were China and had a bottomless pit of money and know you're only gonna get ONE shot at the US where it has to be a one-punch knockout, how would YOU do it?

I do believe CBP has detectors for radioactive materials

 

[Diamondback]

I do believe CBP has detectors for radioactive materials

Don't necessarily have to be nukes on ones moved inland for prepositioning, and I'm not sure what the screening is from ship to FTZ since they're considered to "not have entered the US". The Chinese FTZ in Port of LA depicted in Lethal Weapon 4 was pretty close to one I toured in junior high...

 

[jayR]

Worth while doom video. Impacts to Northern plains.

 

[brandonlamb]

I'm 43, tail end of being a genx, and we never did any kind of drills in school for this. I dont know when that stopped, maybe the 70s? Everyone is busy on TikTok, so heck yea this country WAS much more prepared than today, with all the zombies walking with their face in their iphone.

 

[Jay Walk]

Could we detect a weather balloon sixty years ago?