Five Ways a Wider Syrian War Could Go Nuclear

[damnedifIknow]

"In the wake of an apparent break in the march to a wider war, the reality of a nuclear dimension in Syria remains largely unspoken.

There are at least five key reasons why American military intervention in Syria’s civil war could go nuclear:

(1) There’s a reactor near Damascus.

(2) Despite Secretary of State John Kerry’s promise of an “unbelievably limited” attack, once the U.S. military commits to action in Syria, it is unlikely to hold back any of its tactical arsenal. That would almost certainly include depleted uranium (DU).

(3) When the world’s superpowers collide, nuclear war is always a possibility.

4) In the bottomless turbulence that defines today’s Middle East, the Americans and Russians so far seem to retain some shreds of rationality. But given the Peaceful Atom’s half century of weapons-grade proliferation, we cannot know which nations or marginal groups might now have atomic devices and what random impulses might prompt their use.

(5) While the world’s attention is focused on Syria, the global-scale disaster at Fukushima spirals out of control.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/five_ways_a_wider_syrian_war_could_go_nuclear_20130913/?ln

[stevenleser]

1. Zero possibility of a nuclear war between the US and Russia here.

You know that if you know what Russia is all about.

[morningfog]

3. What, in your opinion, is Russia all about?

[stevenleser]

8. It's not my opinion. Russia is even more of a tool of their ultra Rich than the US is.

Their oligarchs, who are the real power in Russia, have no use for a nuclear war with the US. They very much intend to be alive to enjoy their money, their expensive vodka, their toys and their young nubile wives and girlfriends. If they thought for a moment that Putin might engage in a nuclear war, he would be gone overnight.

[Uncle Joe]

2. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, damnedifIknow.

[longship]

4. If my grandmother had wheels she'd be a wagon.

If you define going nuclear so broadly, maybe my grandmother is a wagon.

Fukushima? Really? What the Hell does that have to do with the prices of apples in India?

I worry about what will happen if we get involved militarily in Syria. But the only people who think nuclear attacks might be involved are Christian rapture ready lunatics (who possibly and desparately want it). The rest of us, including the involved leaders, are not included in that category. Thankfully.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Look, okay, on #5-- The Fukushima clusterfuck is going to continue to spiral out of control

no matter what.

I mean, having even "the world's attention" focused on it -at least until the media dialed the coverage WAY back once it started affecting the markets- didn't stop it, either.

[Uncle Joe]

6. For you and longship

(5) While the world’s attention is focused on Syria, the global-scale disaster at Fukushima spirals out of control.

The more serious the crisis in Syria, the more it will divert attention from an existing nuclear disaster.

Millions of tons of heavily contaminated water continuously flow through the site in central Japan and into the Pacific Ocean. Millions more accumulate in flimsy tanks already breaking apart, all within the specter of the next earthquake.

The three melted cores at Fukushima Daiichi have yet to be found. The common radioactive waste pool near Unit Four is surrounded by buildings whose foundations are being undermined by the continuous flow of radioactive water.

Most terrifying, the entire core of Unit Four remains perched in a damaged fuel pool 100 feet in the air, atop a structure that’s sinking. Should it crash to the ground, that core could potentially spew into the ocean and atmosphere more than 20,000 times the radiation released at Hiroshima.

A sane species would be pouring all its resources into somehow healing the open apocalyptic wound that still festers at Fukushima.

Yet we are tied up in Syria. We can be deeply grateful that the situation there today seems at least slightly less dangerous than it did yesterday

A broader war in Syria can only make a bad situation in Japan worse, just by sapping the world's attention, ability to work together to find a solution and resources.

[defacto7]

12. I agree with your "sane species" remark....

But unfortunately, Japan doesn't want anyones help with their disaster. How would not spending on Syria help put resources into Fukushima? As stated before, advertising has not helped. Would we put pressure on Japan to allow other countries help fix their problems? They've turned down offers and hide the facts. I don't think we can bomb them into submission any more than we should bomb Syria. (a little sarcasm). I just don't think those issues are related. Although I do understand your point in general and your intent commendable.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Actually that remark was an excerpt

from the OP link.

At some point Japan will change their mind as that crisis grows, when that happens if the major nations of the world are bogged down in a protracted war in Syria, there will be a much smaller chance of cooperation and assistance.

Whatever the Japanese are trying to hide can only be hidden for so long and when the tipping point comes, there will be a groundswell with the Japanese People forcing the government to be both open regarding the facts and in seeking help.

Pride and guilt are hard intangibles to overcome.

[defacto7]

14. Yeah, sometimes I'm on another planet....

Nice remarks. I hope the groundswell of the people moves quickly. I'm not sure if the timing of human tipping points is ever very reasonable.

[Uncle Joe]

15. You got that right.

Nice remarks. I hope the groundswell of the people moves quickly. I'm not sure if the timing of human tipping points is ever very reasonable.

Peace to you, defacto.

[joshcryer]

7. Nukes have a habit of cutting through the BS by defining the limits of human madness.

- war tard

[Uncle Joe]

9. There is no limit to human madness nor error. n/t

[joshcryer]

10. Stanislav Petrov disagrees.

Vasili Arkhipov disagrees.

Boris Yeltsin disagrees (he literally had his hand on the key at one point).

Nikita Khrushchev disagrees.

We've come so close on so many occasions it is amazing we're even still here, to be honest.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/nuclear-false-alarms.html

http://mentalfloss.com/article/25685/7-close-calls-nuclear-age

The problem is MAD says that if they shoot just one nuke, we shoot all of ours. That's the rule. That's the promise. And because of that insanity, it's unlikely very many humans would push the button, they care too much.

[Uncle Joe]

11. If Boris Yeltsin had been drunk enough at the time, he might have turned the key.

Just by putting his hand on the key should serve as a warning, not reassurance.

There always seem to be a first time, whatever humanity can't actually conceive happening ends up happening.

60+ years might seem like a long time, but it's a drop in the bucket of humanity's experience.

But aside from an all out nuclear war, the author of the OP makes valid points in regards to other nuclear catastrophes spawning from a greater war in Syria.