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Is Nuclear Annihilation Really One Miscalculation Away?
Many people have been discussing nuclear annihilation since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. But not enough, if you ask me.
Some critics have suggested that focusing on nuclear threat in light of the invasion only feeds in to Putin’s propaganda campaign. I am sympathetic to these concerns.
But I think that focusing on nuclear threat should have always been a dominant focus in geopolitics (even after the end of the Cold War).
In the words of John F. Kennedy,
“There is not going to be any winner of the next war. No one who is a rational man can possibly desire to see hostilities break out, particularly between the major powers which are equipped with nuclear weapons.”
In a recent address by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the politician claimed that we have been “lucky” when it comes to nuclear deterrence. He continues, “Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation, away from nuclear annihilation.”
Some remember when nuclear threat was in the headlines as often, if not more often, than today. At the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis…
