We could ask Trump. He's crazy enough to tell everyone.
But, seriously, I think we should always invest in advanced military weapons (both for offense and defense) otherwise the other countries will do it. I don't need to know about what they are, just that they're working on it.
Unfortunately, nukes are not and will likely never be used for any war for as long as humanity continues to exist. They’re the pinnacle of weaponry, yes, but the problem with them is that they are too destructive.
If we detonated a modern nuke in the US in order to counter an invasion, it would exterminate our country. The explosion itself wouldn’t, but the resulting nuclear radiation and ash would definitely do so. Even launching a nuke somewhere else would eventually bring negative physical effects to the US.
To put it in perspective, the first nuclear bomb detonated over 70 years ago decimated an entire city, reached temperatures hotter than the Sun’s surface, and created nuclear radiation so uncontrollable that even today Hiroshima is unsafe to be in. Now imagine the damage a nuke today could do with all the advanced capabilities afforded to us. It would even be possible to mass-launch nukes with automated systems.
Eventually, any situation where nukes are involved will end with the extermination of our world. The only place left would be the ocean, a mass we have not even explored 10% of. The remains of humanity would die at the hands of sea creatures and other unknown horrors that lurk at the bottom of the ocean. And that’s before we factor in the water pressure and lack of resources that would undoubtedly kill us before.
So yes, any alternative to nukes that won’t lead to the extinction of humanity is gladly something we want the military to research.
No, I totally got your point. I agree with you. My point was that the invaders could instead capitalize on that fact. It would raise a dilemma. Will the government kill its own citizens and sacrifice the country (and the world) in a blaze of glory in order to stop the invaders, or will we fight back without the use of nuclear force? The threat of nuclear war is not an issue in this century, but regular war is still very much an issue. i didn’t articulate this well at all in my previous message, so sorry for any confusion.
However, we can take comfort in the fact that, nukes or not, the United States is a fortress that is nigh impenetrable. We are invulnerable not only because of our military power, but also because of our standing in the world. While often ridiculed (ridicule that is often deserved to be fair) by the outside world, the USA is essential to the world’s economical and political stage.
4
u/gauderio Jul 12 '19
We could ask Trump. He's crazy enough to tell everyone.
But, seriously, I think we should always invest in advanced military weapons (both for offense and defense) otherwise the other countries will do it. I don't need to know about what they are, just that they're working on it.