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The following article is part of a library of articles from
The Beyond War/IPPNW BBS in Cambridge, MA. Comments or
suggestions should be directed to the Beyond War/IPPNW BBS
at (617) 731-1575, 300/1200, 8/N/1. or call Andy at
(617) 739-4869 (voice).
The Following fact sheet is provided by the Beyond War Project:
Trident Nuclear Submarine-
The Trident nuclear submarine ("Boomer"), the largest submarine
in the United States Navy packs more explosive power in its 24
missiles than all the gunpowder exploded in all the wars man has
fought to date. ("Christian Science Monitor", 10-14-82)
The Trident is 560 feet long; it weighs 18,750 tons. Each of the
24 nuclear missiles it carries weighs 65,000 pounds. Each nuclear
missile has 8 independently targeted warheads (nuclear bombs),
which means that one Trident nuclear submarine can hit 192
targets (8 x 24 = 192). ("Nuclear Weapons Data Book", Natural
Resources Defense Council, 1984.)
The firepower in one Trident nuclear submarine can effectively
destroy Soviet society. The United States has four Tridents:
the Ohio, the Michigan, the Florida, the Georgia. We plan to
build 15 of them. (Department of Defense, Selected Acquisition
Report, 6-30-82).
Typhoon Nuclear Submarine-
The Soviet Typhoon nuclear submarine is the largest in the Soviet
fleet. It 561 feet long and weighs 25,000 tons. Each of its 20
nuclear missiles carries 8 independently targeted warheads
(nuclear bombs). One Typhoon can hit 160 targets (8 x 20 = 160)
and can effectively destroy American society. The Soviet Union
has two Typhoon submarines and is planning to build 6 more by the
early 1990's. (Plomar, Norman. "Guide to the Soviet Navy-3rd
Edition." Annapolis, Md. Naval Institute Press, 1983). ("Soviet
Military Power, 1984." Dept. of Defense. Superintendent of
Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C.
20402.)
Nuclear Winter-
The "nuclear winter" phenomenon could be triggered when only 1%
of the current nuclear weapons arsenal is detonated. When the
nuclear bombs explode near the ground they generate a fine dust;
those that explode in the air create fire and smoke. The dust
and the smoke will block out the sunlight for months;
photosynthesis will stop; temperatures on earth will drop
drastically; plants, crops, animals and people will die. During
this time the lingering radiation will be extremely high, causing
serious illness and death.
As the nuclear soot and dust settle, deadly solar ultraviolet
light will pour over the earth now unprotected by the ozone which
will have been damaged by the nuclear bombs. Ultraviolet
sunlight will be extremely dangerous to any form of life that
remains, These effects will initially begin in the Northern
Hemisphere, where it is assumed most of the bombs will be
detonated. The environmental effects will find their way to the
Southern Hemisphere as the breezes blow the dust and soot across
the equator. There is no nation on Earth that will not be
affected by a "nuclear winter".
Only one of the the superpower countries needs to launch its
nuclear weapons to trigger a "nuclear winter". (Ehrlich, Paul;
Sagan, Carl; Kennedy, Donald; Roberts, Walter Orr. "the Cold and
the Dark.: W.W. Norton & co. 1984).
Star Wars-
The "Star Wars" program proposes to launch satellite weapons into
space that would intercept and destroy strategic ballistic
missiles (nuclear bomb) directed against the United States before
they reach their targets in this country.
This space-based defense system would trigger a further massive
build-up of new weapons by each side which would only escalate
the present danger. (Scientific American, Oct. 1984).
Even if the "Star Wars" system worked as designed, 5% of the
incoming nuclear missiles would still get through and explode on
their targets. Detonation of only 1% of the nuclear weapons will
create the possibility of a "nuclear winter". (Institute for
Space and Security Studies, 7720 Mary Cassat Drive, Potomac, MD
20854).
The "Star Wars" program is in the research stage. $26 billion
has been allocated for research and development for a 5 year
period. (Scientific American, Oct. 1984).
Right now the technology does not exist to build such a system.
It is estimated that the "Star Wars" defense system would cost in
excess of $1 trillion. (San Francisco Chronicle, 8-10-84).
Arms Build-Up / Social Cost-
There is a social cost we pay for weapons development. There are
social programs that need support and do not receive it. In the
face of staggering military costs, we must acknowledge the
needless death of 40,000 children every day. UNICEF reported the
death of 15 million children last year. Most deaths could have
been avoided by simple methods at low cost: 5 million died from
dehydration caused by simple diarrhea. More than 3 million died
from pneumonia. Two million died from measles. A million and a
half died from whooping cough. A million died from tetnus. And
for every child who dies many more live on in hunger and ill
health. (San Francisco Chronicle, 10-26-83).
It would cost $6 billion to eliminate most infant deaths
worldwide through the use of vaccines and training of community
health workers. (San Francisco Chronicle, 10-26-83). $6 billion
is the cost of 6 Navy destroyer ships. (U.S. News and World
Report, 9-17-84).
The government of the world spent $650 billion in 1982 on
armaments. Each minute of every day the world spends $1,300,000
for military purposes. In that same time, 30 children die for
lack of food and inexpensive vaccines. (Sivard, Ruth. World
Military & Social Expenditures, 1982. World Priorities, Box
25140, Washington DC 20007).
Ten years ago, the U.N. World Conference pledged itself to
eliminate world hunger within a decade - a goal that has not been
realized. If 4% of the world's military budget were spent each
year on agricultural development, by the year 2000, world hunger
could be eliminated. (World Military and Social Expenditures,
1982).
Military assistance to the Third World by the developed countries
has far outpaced economic aid in the last 20 years - $400 billion
in military aid compared to $25 billion in economic aid. (World
Military & Social Expenditures, 1983).
For every 100,000 people in the world, there are 556 trained
soldiers and 85 trained doctors. (World Military & Social
Expenditures, 1982).
In 32 countries of the world, governments spend more for military
purposes than for education and health care combined. (World
Military & Social Expenditures, 1982).
More than 50% of all our scientists and engineers are engaged in
defense related research. (Simon Ramo, founder TRW; Science
advisor to President Reagan; in Fortune, 5-16-83).
It was once believed that military spending had positive effects
on the economy but there is growing evidence that its influence
is negative. Military spending does not provide as many jobs for
the dollar as compared to the needed areas of our economy. A
study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics discovered that the
expenditure of $1 billion would create the following number of
jobs in the given sectors of the economy:
Military Weapons Production 75,700 jobs
Mass Transit 92,000 jobs
Construction 100,000 jobs
Health 138,000 jobs
Education 187,300 jobs
(Bureau of Labor Statistics Study. "Structure of the U.S.
Economy in 1980 and 1985").
In the 35 years proceeding 1982, the United States spent $2.3
trillion for military purposes. THe current proposal for the
Dept. of Defense budget is $2.6 trillion for the next 8 years.
(Defense Monitor published by the Center for Defense
Information). If we spent $2 million a day every day since the
year 1 A.D. we would still not have spent $2 trillion.
Warning Time-
THe nuclear powers of the world are like two scorpions in a
bottle-operating under a strategy known as "mutually assured
destruction" MAD. The destruction of one country will mean, in
the end, the destruction of both the attacked and the attacker.
To lessen such a blow we began to think about "counterforce" an
attack made against the weapons of our adversary to hopefully cut
down on the destructive power of the attack. This attitude
inevitably lead to the discussion of "first strike". the idea
that we must use our weapons first to assure that they are
launched before destroyed in their launchers by our adversary.
We, therefore, find ourselves sitting on a razor's edge. If our
computers detect a launch by an adversary (accurately or
inaccurately - see False Alarms) we have only 25 minutes (the
launch and impact time) in the case of land launched missiles -
Titan II, Pershing II, MX, Minuteman I & II - and only 7 to 10
minutes (the launch and impact time) in the case of submarine
launched missiles - Poseidon, Trident I & II - to decide if we
will launch our missiles or not. If we hesitate longer our
missiles will be destroyed by the incoming missiles of our
adversary. This strategy is often known as the "use them or lose
them" strategy.
Nuclear War in the 1980's? Christopher Chant & Ian Hogg, 1983.
The Nuclear Almanac-Confronting the Atom in War and Peace.
Compiled and edited by faculty members at M.I.T., 1984.
False Alarms-
The North American Defense Command reported 151 computer false
alarms in an 18 month period. One had American forces on alert
for a full 6 minutes before the error was discovered. (New York
Times 11-23-82).
In 1979 and the first half of 1980 there were 3,703 "routine
missile display conferences", low-level false alerts. Those
listed below were sufficiently serious to come within minutes of
launching a nuclear war:
October 3, 1979 - A radar designed to detect submarine-
launched ballistic missiles picked up a low-orbit rocket body
that was close to decay and generated a false launch and
impact report.
November 9, 1979 - The central NORAD computer system
indicated a mass attack by incoming missiles as a result of
an "inadvertent introduction of simulated data" into the
computer.
March 15, 1980 - A false warning of major nuclear attack was
generated by one of four Soviet submarine launched ballistic
missiles being tested during troop training exercises in the
Kuril Islands of North Japan.
June 3, 1980 - A false warning of a major nuclear attack
was generated by a "bad chip in a communications processor
computer."
June 6, 1980 - The same warning was repeated when the June 3
incident was simulated during investigation of the computer
problem.
The Nuclear Almanac - Confronting the Atom in War and Peace.
Compiled and edited by faculty members at M.I.T., 1984.
Proliferation-
India, Israel, South Africa, Libya, Pakistan, Iraq, Argentina and
Brazil are listed as "emerging nuclear powers" in a recent study
done by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. Because key data with
regard to the functioning of a nuclear weapon is now determined
by computer analysis, any of the emerging nuclear powers could
possess a bomb without having to test it. San Jose Mercury 10-
31-84.
Faulty Equipment-
Microchips used in the United States weapons arsenal are under
suspect because of possible insufficient testing by their
manufacturers. One modern jet fighter can carry as many as
10,000 microchips. Peninsula Times Tribune 12-26-83.
Other Indicators of Urgency-
The respected Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved its "Doomsday
Clock" to 3 minutes before midnight at the beginning of 1984.
This clock has been used as an indicator for the last 37 years;
measuring how close the world is ti a global nuclear
confrontation. Only once before in those 37 years has that
publication seen fit to place the warning hand any closer to
midnight than in stands today. That was done in 1953 in response
to the advent of the Hydrogen bomb. Bulletin of Atomic
Scientists, January 1984.
More than 100,000 American Military personnel have some form of
access to or responsibility for nuclear weapons. A House
subcommittee reported that in 1977 - a typical year - 1,219 of
them had to be removed from such duty because of mental
disorders, 256 for alcohol abuse and 1,365 for drug abuse. New
York Times 11-23-82.
Reading List
Beyond War: A New Way of Thinking. Beyond War Project, Palo Alto, 1984
This workbook published by the staff of Beyond War can be
ordered from the Distribution Dept., 222 High St., Palo Alto 94301
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. 5801 South Kenwood Ave., Chicago,
IL 60637
Every issue of this magazine has pertinent articles on the
latest developments in nuclear weapons and the efforts to
control them.
The Cold and the Dark. Paul Ehrlich, Carl Sagan, Donald Kennedy,
Walter Orr Roberts. W.W. Norton & Co., 1984.
Written by some of the major scientists involved in the
research, this book contains the latest detailed description
of "nuclear winter".
The Fate of the Earth. Jonathan Schell. Avon, New York, 1982.
A beautifully written and comprehensive book on the effects of
nuclear war on our planet, and the necessity to save the earth
for future generations.
People's Guide to National Defense. Shelia Tobias, Peter
Goudinoff, Stephan Leader. William & March, New York, 1982.
What kind of guns are they buying for your butter? A
beginners' guide to defense, weaponry and military spending.
The Trimtab Factor. Harold Willens. William Morrow Co., Inc.,
New York, 1984.
The business community is asked to get involved in the effort
to prevent nuclear war, and especially the effort to improve
U.S.-Soviet relations. This book makes clear the imperative
for an end to the nuclear arms race.
What About the Russians - And Nuclear War? Ground Zero. Pocket
Books, 1982.
A survey of essential background information on the Soviet
Union and U.S.-Soviet relationships.