GHung wrote:Pity, maybe; not disgust. "Forgive them, for they know not what they do" or something like that.
onlooker wrote:I think Ibon your story dramatizes to me the incredible waste and over consumption evident in our modern industrial civilization. I believe I had read from Greer that some of the personal electrical uses could have so easily been serviced by wind or solar. Things like heating water, lights, fans, running water etc. In turn this dramatizes how at some point we were at a crucible whereby we could have perhaps chosen a less ostentatious and prolific economic system via wind/solar etc. but decided to go with the most energy intensive type of economic system via fossil fuels. Was this as inevitable as overpopulation was given our medical advances? Probably. But who knows.
Two independent sources told EurActiv.com that the US has started transferring nuclear weapons stationed in Turkey to Romania, against the background of worsening relations between Washington and Ankara.
According to one of the sources, the transfer has been very challenging in technical and political terms.
“It’s not easy to move 20+ nukes,” said the source, on conditions of anonymity.
According to a recent report by the Simson Center, since the Cold War, some 50 US tactical nuclear weapons have been stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik air base, approximately 100 kilometers from the Syrian border.
During the failed coup in Turkey in July, Incirlik’s power was cut, and the Turkish government prohibited US aircraft from flying in or out. Eventually, the base commander was arrested and implicated in the coup.
Whether the US could have maintained control of the weapons in the event of a protracted civil conflict in Turkey is an unanswerable question, the report says.
Another source told EurActiv news website that the US-Turkey relations had deteriorated so much following the coup that Washington no longer trusted Ankara to host the weapons. The American weapons are being moved to the Deveselu air base in Romania, the source said.
Romania was an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, but it never hosted nuclear weapons during that period. Stationing tactical US nuclear weapons close to Russia’s borders is likely to infuriate Russia and lead to an escalation. The stationing of Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962 was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
EurActiv has asked the US State Department, and the Turkish and the Romanian foreign ministries, to comment. American and Turkish officials both promised to answer. After several hours, the State Department said the issue should be referred to the Department of Defense. EurActiv will publish the DoD reaction as soon as it is received.
In the meantime, NATO sent EurActiv a diplomatically worded comment which implies that allies must make sure that US nuclear weapons deployed in Europe remain “safe”.
“On your question, please check the Communiqué of the NATO Warsaw Summit (published on 9 July 2016), paragraph 53: “NATO’s nuclear deterrence posture also relies, in part, on United States’ nuclear weapons forward-deployed in Europe and on capabilities and infrastructure provided by Allies concerned. These Allies will ensure that all components of NATO’s nuclear deterrent remain safe, secure, and effective,” a NATO spokesperson wrote to EurActiv.
The NATO summit took place a few days before the failed coup in Turkey. At that time, the risks for the US nukes in Incirlik were related to the proximity of the war in Syria and the multiple terrorist attacks that have taken place in Turkey in recent months. For some of the attacks, Ankara blamed Daesh (ISIL), and for others the PKK, the Kurdish military organization that appears on the EU and US terrorist lists.
The Romanian foreign ministry strongly denied the information that the country has become home of US nukes.
“In response to your request, Romanian MFA firmly dismisses the information you referred to,” a spokesperson wrote.
The report by Euractiv.ro that the United States has started the transfer of nuclear weapons from Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base to the Deveselu air base in Romania has triggered numerous reactions from Romania’s politicians. The country’s Ministry of Defense denied yesterday the reports, which he dismissed as “speculations.”One cannot move warheads as you would a sack of potatoes
... According to former president Traian Basescu, the information is not reliable. “One cannot move warheads as you would a sack of potatoes, it was decided yesterday and tomorrow it’s done, we move them to another location. Secondly, such a move involves a negotiation process between the owner of the warheads and the host country that takes years, because once deposited on the territory of a state, the risks for this state are extremely high. There are a lot of components that make this information unreliable,” Basescu told broadcaster Realitatea TV on Thursday.
The United States switched on an $800 million missile shield in Romania yesterday (12 May) that it sees as vital to defend itself and Europe from so-called rogue states but the Kremlin says is aimed at blunting its own nuclear arsenal.
To the music of military bands at the remote Deveselu air base, senior US and NATO officials declared operational the ballistic missile defence site, which is capable of shooting down rockets from countries such as Iran that Washington says could one day reach major European cities.
The Pentagon is suddenly very interested in making sure Russia knows America's nukes still work.
The last three weeks has seen a surge in testing of American nuclear weapon systems, accompanied by carefully released photos on social media. The tests and pictures appear calculated to drive home one point: The Cold War may have ended 24 years ago, but America's nuclear weapons still work.
On October 21, a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in in Southern California. The missile, launched by crews from the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming, delivered a re-entry test vehicle to Kwajalein Atoll 4,200 miles away.
On November 3, 2015, a pair of B-52H bombers flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to Spain, where they participated in a maritime strike scenario exercise. Although the mission simulated a conventional strike, the B-52H has the ability to drop nuclear bombs.
On November 7, a Trident II D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile launched from the Pacific Missile Test Center in Southern California, also at Kwajalein Atoll. This launch from the nuclear submarine USS Kentucky was seen up and down the West Coast, as far as Arizona and San Francisco, and widely photographed and shared on social media. Five members of Congress were on board to observe the launch. On November 9 a second Trident was launched from Pacific Missile Test Center.
Germany on Wednesday (24 August) urged its population to stockpile food and water in case of terrorist or cyber attacks, as it adopted its first civil defence strategy since the end of the Cold War.
The plan marks the first broad update since 1995, when a dismantling of federal civil defence structures was advocated as security policies were eased in the wake of German reunification.
But the 69-page document warned that “the security policy environment has changed again”.
The plan makes civilian backing of troops a priority while advocating making buildings more resilient and increasing capacity in the healthcare system.
It also encourages the people to stockpile sufficient food for 10 days, and water to last five.
An obscure website published a vague report Thursday making the dramatic claim that relations between Washington and Ankara had deteriorated so badly that the United States had begun moving nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania.
The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be any basis at all for the report, which alleged B61 nuclear weapons were on their way to Romania’s Deveselu base. Romania’s defense ministry promptly denied it and experts dismissed the idea as illogical for technical and other reasons.
Although the Obama administration declined to comment, officials privately scoffed at the report when asked by FP.
... According to a 2010 paper by The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) titled, “NATO’s Tactical Nuclear Dilemma” (PDF), part of the reasoning of maintaining nuclear weapons in Europe and Turkey is to give the NATO alliance “credibility” as well as discourage nuclear proliferation both within NATO and beyond it.
The paper postulated that the removal of nuclear weapons from Turkey could unbalance the region strategically and spur nuclear proliferation from Iran to Saudi Arabia and perhaps even force Turkey itself to seek its own nuclear weapons. In regards to Turkey, the paper concluded that maintaining US nuclear weapons there was desirable both for Turkey and for NATO.
Considering what were perceived to be the consequences of removing nuclear weapons from Turkey in 2010, the transferring of US nuclear weapons to Romania now would be serious indeed. Thus, floating rumors of the weapons being moved could have been aimed at pressuring Ankara to make concessions regarding any number of current US projects in the region, the most prominent of which would be its ongoing proxy war against Syria, Russia and Iran.
Another possibility may have been to simply add credibility to claims that US and Turkish ties are strained, even unraveling.
This geopolitical subterfuge might be aimed at Russia and Syria as a means of drawing them in before an inevitable betrayal.
Cid_Yama wrote:If they were going anywhere, I would expect them to be transferred to Croatia who have been preparing to receive nuclear weapons under the nuclear sharing program since 2013.
link
Romania is not part of the program, nor would have the secure facilities prepared to house them.
Interviewer Chuck Todd had asked him, “Why would he [Obama] send a message out to Putin?” Biden pursed his lips, paused, and said, with a grim look on his face, “We sent him the message.” Of course that didn’t answer Todd’s question, which was “Why?" Biden and Todd both remained silent for another tense moment. Then, Biden picked up again: “We have the capacity to do it, and, uh,” and Todd interrupted him there with “He’ll know it?” Biden replied: “He’ll know it, and it’ll be at a time of our choosing, and under circumstances that have the greatest impact. Uh, the capacity to do, to fundamentally alter the election, is not what people think; and, uh, I tell you what: to the extent that they do [‘do’ presumably meaning: fundamentally alter the election], we will be proportionate in what we do. And, uh,” Todd again interrupted his interviewee, and said, “So, a message is going to be sent. Will the public know?” Biden replied, “Hope not.”
dissident wrote:http://russia-insider.com/en/obama-threatens-putin-nuclear-war/ri17032Interviewer Chuck Todd had asked him, “Why would he [Obama] send a message out to Putin?” Biden pursed his lips, paused, and said, with a grim look on his face, “We sent him the message.” Of course that didn’t answer Todd’s question, which was “Why?" Biden and Todd both remained silent for another tense moment. Then, Biden picked up again: “We have the capacity to do it, and, uh,” and Todd interrupted him there with “He’ll know it?” Biden replied: “He’ll know it, and it’ll be at a time of our choosing, and under circumstances that have the greatest impact. Uh, the capacity to do, to fundamentally alter the election, is not what people think; and, uh, I tell you what: to the extent that they do [‘do’ presumably meaning: fundamentally alter the election], we will be proportionate in what we do. And, uh,” Todd again interrupted his interviewee, and said, “So, a message is going to be sent. Will the public know?” Biden replied, “Hope not.”
The lunatics in the White House really believe that they have nuclear primacy. This is what the delusion about being exceptional gets you. Delusions of grandeur and invincibility. The broken record of western history and its perpetual drang nach osten.
You will get yours and you will never recover.
vox_mundi wrote: CIA Prepping for Possible Cyber Strike Against RussiaThe Obama administration is contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert action against Russia in retaliation for alleged Russian interference in the American presidential election, U.S. intelligence officials told NBC News.
Current and former officials with direct knowledge of the situation say the CIA has been asked to deliver options to the White House for a wide-ranging "clandestine" cyber operation designed to harass and "embarrass" the Kremlin leadership.
The sources did not elaborate on the exact measures the CIA was considering, but said the agency had already begun opening cyber doors, selecting targets and making other preparations for an operation. Former intelligence officers told NBC News that the agency had gathered reams of documents that could expose unsavory tactics by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When asked if the American public will know a message was sent, the vice president replied, "Hope not."
Retired Admiral James Stavridis told NBC News' Cynthia McFadden that the U.S. should attack Russia's ability to censor its internal internet traffic and expose the financial dealings of President Vladimir Putin and his associates."It's well known that there's great deal of offshore money moved outside of Russia from oligarchs," he said. "It would be very embarrassing if that was revealed, and that would be a proportional response to what we've seen" in Russia's alleged hacks and leaks targeting U.S. public opinion.
"We've always hesitated to use a lot of stuff we've had, but that's a political decision," one former officer said. "If someone has decided, `We've had enough of the Russians,' there is a lot we can do. Step one is to remind them that two can play at this game and we have a lot of stuff. Step two, if you are looking to mess with their networks, we can do that, but then the issue becomes, they can do worse things to us in other places."
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Tanada wrote:Nuclear war is a game nobody wins and everybody loses.
vox_mundi wrote:
The interview was about cyberwar - not nuclear war
vox_mundi wrote:cyberwar - not nuclear war
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