Pariahjf wrote:
Israel & Saudi Arabia need to deal with their own issues over there----not us. That's why we gave them all that high-tech weaponry.
A rather narrow view... a nuclear war must be averted, If you think the earth is in trouble now, and frankly it is, not from cow flagilance but from over population, careless management of garbage, to normal environmental changes. If an exchange involving just 50 nuclear weapons — the kind of thing we might see in an Israel/Iran war, for example — could loft 5 billion kilograms of smoke, soot and dust high into the stratosphere. That’s enough to cool the entire planet by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.25 degrees Celsius) — about where we were during the Little Ice Age of the 17th century. Growing seasons could be shortened enough to create really significant food shortages.
To my knowledge, most of the changes in nuclear weapons technology since the 1950s have focused on making them smaller and lighter, and making delivery systems more accurate, rather than on changing their effects on the environment or on human health. So-called “battlefield” weapons with lower explosive yields are part of some arsenals now — but it’s quite unlikely that any exchange between two nuclear powers would stay limited to these smaller, less destructive bombs.
Larger bombs can flatten cities. Many if not most people within the blast radius — which can be up to 10 miles — would die instantly. Those who survived would wish they hadn’t, since most would die later of severe burns or cancers. Radioactive fallout from these weapons’ debris clouds would reach the stratosphere, where it would travel worldwide, potentially contaminating crops and livestock as well as causing radiation sickness and cancer directly. Later, this fallout would cause genetic mutations in plants, animals and human beings, as it has in the vicinity of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
Nuclear explosions would also cause immense fires. The smoke from burning buildings, oil and gas fields, refineries, chemical factories, and industrial facilities would be highly toxic. Forest fires would engulf large areas. These effects would destroy more property and kill more people.
And that will happen with just two nations using nukes. If the command is given, it is inevitable that the Syrians, the Iranians, Hezbollah and the Russians would fight back. This would be the start of World War 3. Moreover, the Saudis and the Turks are trying to convince the United States to be involved. However, the truth is that we do not want to be a part of this, because it could very easily become the first nuclear war in the history of the Middle East. In the event of a massive ground invasion by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their allies, it is more likely that Russia may decide to be the first to use nukes. An invasion force of hundreds of thousands of troops would outnumber the small Russian force that is already inside Syria. This means that the Russians may feel that the only thing that they can do is to use nukes. In addition, Russia has more tactical nukes than anyone else in the world. Furthermore, there are some reports that indicate that they may even be prepared to use them in Syria.
Russia and China have a "protection pact" that stands alone from the UN.... if Russia launches, China will step forward.... Speaking of the UN...they would send "peace keeping forces." And the US would be pulled in.
And all this in the early months.... no corner of the earth would be spared. Do you still believe that we should not have intervened in the crisis building between Israel and Iran?