Sublime Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 very well done IMO. Amazing how quickly we almost came to... annihilation on both sides, and amazing how simple misreading of signs can lead to such awful potential consequences.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigduke6 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 We should not forget Stanislav Petrov, who one month before Able Archer was the Soviet air defence officer sitting in a bunker, and when a computer glitch informed him the Americans had launched five ICBMs, he decided not to inform the Kremlin of incoming nukes and so, arguably, prevented World War Three. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger33 Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Wasn't there a Soviet submarine captain who did something like that as well? It seems the only people eager to end the world were politicians trying to get votes. The guys with their fingers on the switches weren't quite as excited about wiping out humanity. Here he is, Vasiliy Arkhipov 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Interesting stuff. Not acting hastily seems good. Witness Israel currently where the officer/spy class is very much less bullish than the politicians about war with Iran. And saying so publicly. Seems that distrust of politico's reactions as an ingrained view worth having. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tero Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Interesting stuff. Not acting hastily seems good. Witness Israel currently where the officer/spy class is very much less bullish than the politicians about war with Iran. And saying so publicly. Seems that distrust of politico's reactions as an ingrained view worth having. Iraqi WMD's are a good example of how unchecked politicians on a mission can really aggrevate a situation beyond repair. The Israelis are at the moment in no geo-political position to start poking at hornet nests. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dieseltaylor Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 04/05/2012 TEL-AVIV, May 4 (RIA Novosti) - An official ceremony to hand over to Israel a Dolphin-class submarine, which can carry nuclear weapons, was held on Thursday in the German city of Kiel. The German-made submarine, named Tanin ("alligator" in Hebrew), is due to enter service in 2013, when all tests are completed. The Tanin is the fourth submarine of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and one of the country’s most expensive defense contracts. Its construction costs are estimated at $500 million, with one third being subsidized by the German government. "The Navy and the submarine fleet constitute a deterrent, protective and strategic arm for the IDF and for the State of Israel," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during the ceremony. A fifth submarine for the IDF is currently in the final stages of construction and is due to enter service in 2014. Two months ago, Israel and Germany have signed a deal to build the sixth submarine, due to be completed by 2017. I must admit to being uneasy with providing a stealth delivery system for "nuclear weapons" to any minor country where blackmailing a major may be a card to play at some future time. And Germany paying a third of the cost! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_class_submarine 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 People wouldn't sleep nights if they realized how many times the use of nuclear weapons has been threatened or how many times someone almost launched over anything from a flock of geese, to a meteorite's exploding, to an errant Norwegian science rocket http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/military/read.main/31825/ Here's one such list. http://www.skeptically.org/onwars/id7.html Call it abbreviated! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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