The Nuclear Option??

This is coolbert:

In his book, "Understanding War", Trevor Dupuy gives some advice to combat commanders, who, on the modern battlefield may at some point contemplate the use of nuclear weapons, tactical or otherwise.

"He [the combat commander] must not allow himself to be deluded - - as some would suggest - - that nuclear weapons are not significantly different from other weapons, only somewhat more powerful . . . Nuclear weapons differ from conventional weapons not just in power, but in kind."

"NOT just in power, but in KIND."

[I would have to think that of all people Dupuy would be one a few most familiar with the usage of nuclear weapons on the battlefield and the ramifications thereof. A combat artillery officer, and a planner on the Pentagon staff during his career, this just has to be so!!]

[what follows is developed from the original idea as contained in the book, "The Face of Battle", by John Keegan.]

Consider the preparatory artillery bombardment by the British on the German positions prior to going “over the top” at the Somme, 1916.

* A bombardment that lasted continuously, more or less, for SEVEN days.

* ABOUT thirty tons of high explosive were lobbed onto the German positions for each square mile of what became the Somme battlefield.

[this is the quantity of explosive contained WITHIN the artillery shells, NOT the weight of the shells themselves!!]

Consider also the bombardment of the Normandy battlefield [1944] by allied heavy and medium bombers in support of what became the Cobra Offensive.

* ABOUT 4,000 tons of high explosives dropped in area comprising roughly eight square miles [21 square kilometers].

[several sources exist on the tonnage per square mile at Cobra. Keegan says 800 tons; sites on the Internet suggest 500 tons. Again, we are talking about the weight of the high explosive contained WITHIN the bombs themselves, NOT the actual weight of the bombs]

* An aerial bombardment lasting for three hours!!

Consider now the detonation of a small size tactical nuclear weapon. Say of the B61 atomic bomb variety.

* About 1500 tons of high explosive energy will be released by the detonation of the B61! Variable "yields" are obtainable from the B61!

It will take about 10 seconds for the blast wave to reach the furthest point of the square mile, which is at the epicenter of the atomic detonation!

[assuming the blast wave is traveling at about 250 miles/per/hour. Also NOT taking into consideration heat and radiation effects of the bomb!]

Comparative INTENSITIES OF THESE VARIOUS BOMBARDMENTS CAN NOW BE ESTABLISHED!!??

The Cobra bombardment was 1,000 times more INTENSE than the preparatory bombardment at the Somme!!

The detonation of a B61 atomic bomb would be 3,000 times more INTENSE than the Cobra bombardment!!

A B61 atomic detonation would be roughly about 3 MILLION times more INTENSE than the Somme preparatory bombardment!!!

[all my calculations rough and approximate!! ABOUT!!]

Are my assumptions right here? Am I missing something? I am not an expert on this subject! In a quick and dirty way I am correct with my calculations?

INTENSITY alone is worthy of consideration? Radioactive and heat effects of course make the situation worse with a nuclear blast!!

AND, if we take into consideration a Hiroshima size atomic bomb, we are talking then an intensity ten times that of the 1.5 kiloton version B61? Go even beyond Hiroshima size and just forget it!!??

coolbert.

Oregon?

This is coolbert:

Here is another web site that makes some startling and very alarming claims.

The Oregon Truth Alliance.

Again, this is a web site where a certain agenda is promoted. Impeach the Bush/Cheney cabal being foremost.

Recent blog posts include entries such as:

* "Citizens Arrest Warrant for Bush/Cheney"
* "Is Martial Law in the U.S. Just Right Around the Corner?"
* "Portland Sept. 11 Truth Action March a Great Success"

As with the Sorcha Faal website, some outrageous claims are made. To include:

* The Bush/Cheney cabal is planning a nuclear Armageddon.

* The 9/11 attacks were all carefully orchestrated by the Bush/Cheney cabal. OSAMA BIN LADEN IS IN LEAGUE WITH THE BUSH/CHENEY CABAL.

* The World Trade Center buildings were brought down by controlled demolitions. NOT from the aircraft striking the buildings.

[The two WTC buildings WERE designed to withstand the impact of Boeing 707 aircraft. That was the standard commercial airliner at the time of the building of WTC [1970]. The WTC buildings WERE NOT designed to withstand the impact from a Boeing 767 AND resulting fires from an aircraft full of aviation gasoline.]

Most recently, The Oregon Truth Alliance has made some claims regarding the B-52 incident. Six, or was it five, cruise missiles, tipped with atomic warheads, were flowing from Minot SD. to Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

The Oregonians DO INSIST that this was NOT an accident. These NUCLEAR TIPPED CRUISE MISSILES WERE TO BE USED IN AN ATTACK AGAINST IRAN!!

An intentional event. BUT NOT PERPETRATED BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.

The Oregonians have the INSIDE INFO [from a high ranking source of course], that the missiles were purposefully diverted to Barksdale by CHINESE MILITARY HACKERS WHO WERE ABLE TO OVERRIDE U.S. PROTOCOLS AND MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS, INSERTING DEVIOUS AND MISLEADING COMMANDS!!!!

THE CHINESE EITHER WANTED THE MISSILES TO BE USED AGAINST IRAN TO START AND UNINTENTIONAL CONFLAGRATION, OR WERE JUST DEMONSTRATING - - WHAT - - THEY COULD DO - - IF THEY WANTED!!!

The Chinese - - been able to embed - - into micro-chips - - SOMETHING - - that allows them to intrude - - at will - - into U.S. military communications worldwide and override commands of the national command authority!!!???

[this would conceivably include commercially available micro-chips made in China and used in American military electronic circuit boards. The secret technology is already in place, just waiting to be activated !!]

Sounds implausible!!?? Or is it?? Nanotechnology at work in some manner not even understood by American investigators. Allegedly ACCIDENTALLY discovered by Japanese researchers AND SOLD TO THE CHINESE!! The Japanese government NOT even knowing of this breakthrough!!

Of course, the Oregonians have, like Sorcha Faal, secret sources at the highest levels of the U.S. government.

See here the interview with the secret source. Done through a secret intermediary too!!

"Was it Japanese technology?
Yes."

"Do the Japanese know what it was being used for?
No."

"Was it electromagnetic or a microchip?
A technology not widely understood. You already asked me that."

"What technology did Japan have that China did not have?
It is a highly secretive thing that only China knows about and U.S. does not know about."

Sounds very frightening!! The end of the world as we know it!! And impeach the Bush/Cheney cabal soon too!!

coolbert.

Da' plume!!

This is coolbert:

If there were nuclear materials present in those Syrian underground bunkers allegedly struck by the Israeli Air Force, I would have to assume that there has also been a release of radioactive materials that will be detectable!

Picked up by the winds of the upper atmosphere and eventually traveling around the world.

"Downwinders" in places such as IRAQ [U.S. forces in particular], IRAN, PAKISTAN, INDIA, ETC. WILL KNOW ABOUT THIS SOON, IF NOT ALREADY.

Also to be picked up at various sites around the world that are part of CTBT - - IMS network.

Those stations especially designated to watch for the presence of radio-nuclide particles. [minute radioactive particles carried into the upper atmosphere.]

And of course, various militaries and intelligence agencies WORLDWIDE will be conducting "missions" to determine what exactly has happened in Syria, to the extent that it CAN BE determined!!

coolbert.

Radio-active?

This is coolbert:

From the Chicago Tribune today:

“Pakistan ads raise worry over its nuclear security”

Ads have recently been placed in Pakistani Urdu-Sindhi, and Pushtu language newspapers that have raised alarm [at least in the mind of Congressman Mark Kirk [R-IL].

“The ads, placed by the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority, warn anyone who sees such a sign to step away from the material and call a reporting hot line.”

Ads that:

”display the international yellow-warning sign for nuclear material.”

Ads that have NOT appeared in any of the Pakistani ENGLISH language newspapers.

Congressman Kirk is an active Navy reservist, an intelligence officer, continuing to perform his reserve duty while serving as a Congressman. Presumably Congressman Kirk has the background that allows him to make reasonable inferences from these ads and the lack of them in Pakistani ENGLISH language newspapers.

"Kirk was also commissioned in 1989 as a reserve intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy. In the Navy, Kirk served during conflicts with Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. He served aboard USS Normandy and USS John C Stennis. Kirk also served three tours in Panama and was an aircrewman over Iraq as part of Operation Northern Watch."

[Kirk seems to be intimately involved in all military matters concerning the Great Lakes Naval Training Center!!]

Is this a big to do about nothing? How safely is the Pakistani nuclear arsenal protected? What about other nuclear materials [could be used for a “dirty” bomb]? Reasonably and adequately safeguarded too?

These are legitimate questions!? Yes!

coolbert.

New Nukes?

This is coolbert:

Here are the type of headlines that during the era of the Cold War, used to scare the pants off of folks.

"New nuclear warhead design for US"

A NEW nuclear warhead. "Don't we already have enough of them?" That is the reaction of most people.

In this case, you have to read the article further to fully understand, or at least TRY to understand, what is occurring.

"The chosen design was developed in a Californian laboratory and is based on a warhead already tested in the 1980s."

"The new warhead, due to be operational in five years' time, will be used to replace Trident missiles on submarines."

A NEW warhead that is at least twenty years old. The initial design was developed twenty years ago. And already tested? NO nuclear testing has occurred since since 1992. Presumably this missile warhead was part of testing prior to the current testing moratorium? Will be almost thirty years old when deployed. NEW??

And from the Russians, this headline.

"Putin unveils 'new super missile'"

"These missile systems don't represent a response to a missile defense system, but they are immune to that. They are hypersonic and capable of changing their flight path."

New super missile?? NO. The currently being deployed Russian Topol mobile ICBM with a steerable hypersonic reentry vehicle. That reentry vehicle does just not proceed on a predictable ballistic course, but can maneuver. The hypersonic vehicle carrying the nuclear warhead is not subject to intercept in the conventional manner as it is normally understood an anti-ballistic missile [ABM] system works.

Those that are devoted readers to this blog will remember my prior blog entry on the Russian hypersonic reentry vehicle, nuclear capable.

NEW? NEW? Please!!

coolbert.

CTBT - IMS.

This is coolbert:

Of course, the hot button item on CNN and all the other news networks today is the purported North Korean nuclear test.

Announced by the mad-man of Pyongyang himself today.

A NUCLEAR WEAPONS TEST. NOT just the test of a DEVICE. But of a weapon. Deployable and ready to go NOW!

It is also amazing to me to read the instantaneous and seemingly off-the-cuff-comments made by the governments of the nations closest physically to North Korea.

Such as:

* This was a detonation of about 500 tons - - South Korea. [battlefield size nuke]

* This was the detonation of a neutron bomb - - Communist China. [enhanced radiation weapon]

* This was a detonation of about 15 kilotons - - Russia. [Hiroshima size weapon]

Well, what is it??!!

Judgments and pronouncements of this nature at this time are probably not warranted or advisable until all the data is in.

Judgments and analysis based upon data from the nuclear monitoring systems of the various concerned nations AND the IMS [International Monitoring System].

The latter, 337 stations located throughout the planet. Designed to detect and monitor a nuclear detonation, anywhere in the world. Quite an impressive system.

Uses four methods to detect nuclear bursts:

* Seismic. [shock waves from the burst create earthquake-like seismic activity.]

* Infra-sound. [long distance traveling sub-audio sound waves created by the nuke.]

* Hydro-acoustic. [under-water detonation creates sound waves detectable too.]

* Radio-nuclide. [minute radioactive particles carried into the upper atmosphere.]

A monitoring system, however, that would seem to be faulty. A system that has been designed, from what I surmise, with the intent of detecting 1950's style nuclear testing. That is to say, above-ground detonations. To my knowledge, NO ONE TESTS THIS WAY ANYMORE! Nuclear powers that still test, and I am not sure who they are any more, will either dig a deep mine shaft or a tunnel into the side of a mountain, and detonate the weapon UNDERGROUND.

UNDERGROUND testing as currently done seems to obviate three of the four methods used to detect nuclear detonations.

With underground tests, you will not have infra-sound, hydro-acoustic, or radio-nucleids.

You will still have seismic detection, but that is all. Maybe that is ENOUGH.

[American Vela satellites that have been orbiting the earth for forty years or so now ALSO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DETECT THE CURRENT NORTH KOREAN TEST, IF IT DID OCCUR. LOOKS FOR THE LIGHT FLASH OF A NUCLEAR BURST ABOVE GROUND. OBVIOUSLY, YOU WILL HAVE NO LIGHT FLASH IF THE BURST IS BELOW GROUND!!]

It has even been suggested that seismic detection of a nuclear detonation could be "gotten-around" by submerging your nuke in a large lake. If you did have on your national territory a lake of sufficient size, you could suspend the nuclear bomb in the water and detonate. The damping effect of the water would possibly be enough to attenuate seismic waves to the point where detectors COULD NOT PICK UP THE DETONATION!!??

Being that nuclear powers [with the exception of Israel] seem TO WANT potential adversaries to know they have THE BOMB, defeating the IMS would seem to be counter-productive.

OR IS IT!!??

coolbert.

Japan.

This is coolbert:

Japanese a-bomb development.

In a previous post, I mentioned that it has long been thought that a-bomb development in Japan during WW2 was in the bows and arrows stage. Perhaps, and only perhaps, theoretical research going on, but only limited in that regard, and really nothing more than that.

A book ["Japan's Secret War, by Robert K. Wilcox] that came out about twenty years ago seems to suggest otherwise.

This is another subject that reputable historians just do not want to touch. Too much controversy with this subject. Now, in the days just after the surrender of Japan, a Japanese counter-intelligence [CI] officer was captured in Korea by U.S., forces and interrogated. This man made a startling claim. That the Japanese not only were working on a bomb, they had actually detonated one. This was done from a base in Korea, where the bomb was put together, placed on a remotely operated barge, the barge sailing into the Sea of Japan where it was detonated.

The precipitous advance of the Soviet Army into Korea prevented any further work from being done, and the Japanese did not get to build and detonate their a-bomb over American cities. This Japanese officer reportedly told his interrogators that if the war had continued much longer, American cities would have tasted atomic devastation!

Is this fantastic claim at all plausible?

According to the author of this controversial book, it was plausible.

Japan possessed, in Korea, which was a colony of Japan's at the time, a large industrial complex, with abundant electrical power. Such an industrial complex would have allowed for the machining of and research on an a-bomb. Enormous power sources of electricity would have been needed for such development and research. This was available to the Japanese from their Korean complex. [Think of the U.S. Manhattan Project. The two centers of R & D for the Manhattan Project were at Oak Ridge TN. [TVA], and Hanford [Columbia River Project], sources of vast amount of electrical power].

In addition, the rocks of the northern part of Korea, where almost all of this industrial complex was located, contain very high trace amounts of background radiation, mostly from uranium. Processing enough rock would have allowed the Japanese to possess the necessary amounts of uranium to do valid and serious research on a-bomb development, and having enough would have allowed for sufficient material to build a small number of bombs. [At the end of WW2, the U.S. possessed enough uranium to build 70 Hiroshima type a-bombs].

The author further points to the fact that Soviet forces were extremely precipitous in their advance into Korea. Even more so that what would have been expected.

This advance was done mostly by special purpose type units. These units were the forerunner of the Soviet Spetsnaz units. Advance was done mainly to capture, in the eyes of the author, the labs, research and manufacturing facilities of the Jap a-bomb project intact. For transport back to the Soviet Union. This captured Japanese CI guy stated that the Japanese a-bomb effort was captured intact by the Soviets, along with the scientists involved in the project. These scientists would have been of particular interest to the soviets, as the Soviets were well underway at the time with their own a-bomb project. Short circuit the whole process of a-bomb development by interrogating and finding out critical information from the Japanese scientists would be one way to accelerate the entire Soviet a-bomb project.

[The entire Kwangtung Army of Japan was captured by the Soviets at the end of the war. About 400,000 prisoners were taken. They were sent to the soviet Union to work on constructive Socialist projects, in forced labor camps. Very few survived to return to Japan].

Now, why would none of this come out after the war??

According to Wilcox the U.S. government had a very vested interest in keeping knowledge of Jap a-bomb development secret. Even concealing the whole mess.

With the advent of the cold war, it was felt, correctly so, that Japan would be an important ally against Soviet and communist expansion.

This especially became a fact when the Korean War broke out. Anything that would detract from portraying Japan as an important ally would be counter-productive. The once warlike and militaristic Japan was now portrayed as a peaceful and benevolent society friendly to the U.S. To suggest that Japan was on the verge of a breakthrough in weapons development that would have endangered the entire U.S. would be impermissible.

And the decision by Truman to drop the U.S. a-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be seen in the light of Jap a-bomb development. If the U.S. even had the slightest inkling that the Japanese were either on the verge of having the bomb, or even working on and nearing completion of a bomb project, this would have undoubtedly caused Truman to make his decision sooner than later. Saving immense destruction for the U.S. and Japan both. [This all assumes that the U.S. and the Soviets had good intelligence on Jap a-bomb development].

[By the way, Wilcox, when using Japanese translators during his research in Japan for his book, reports that his translators acted as if they had been pole axed when they came to the realization as to what Wilcox was looking into].

coolbert.