Continuation from yesterday……That is exactly what had happened on October 27th when one brave soul, Vasili Alexandrovich Arkhipov, flat out refused a direct order to launch a nuclear torpedo against the American forces. On that day a group of United States Navy destroyers and the aircraft carrier USS Randolph located the diesel-powered nuclear armed Soviet class Foxtrot submarine B-59 near Cuba.
Despite the submarine being in the international waters, the US Navy started dropping depth charges to force the submarine to surface for identification. What the US Navy didn’t know is that the submarine in question was radio silent, had no contact with Moscow for several days and was too deep to pick up any outside radio traffic. The captain of the submarine, Valentin Savitsky, believing that a war might have already started and that the American Navy was trying to sink his submarine ordered to launch a nuclear torpedo.
At the time three officers on board the submarine had to agree unanimously to authorize the launch. Captain Savitsky, the political officer Ivan Maslennikov and the second in command Arkhipov. While Savitsky and Maslennokov had agreed to launch a nuclear torpedo against the American forces, Arkhipov firmly stood his ground against it. Eventually persuading the duo to surface and to await further orders from Moscow. That is how close we came last time. One man with the nerves of steel is all that stood in the way of a nuclear holocaust.
How will the nuclear war of 2029-2036 start?
Unfortunately, no one knows as the events surrounding the war can unfold in a billion different ways. It is also important to remember that the conflict will start as a conventional war between the USA/NATO and Russia/China alliance. In fact, it is highly probable that the war will have its early days as some sort of a proxy conflict between the superpowers. A proxy conflict that will eventually turn into a direct war and then into an all out nuclear exchange.
A trigger might be as simple as a number of small skirmishes or a short firefight between a Chinese and an American soldier. Whatever it might be, the outcome will be the same. Once the nuclear exchange begins, closer to 2036, it will be over for the rest of us.
If you are unaware, the second the first nuclear weapon is used or an ICBM is launched, it assures mutual destruction. If Moscow decides to launch a single missile against a NATO target, Washington will have to unleash its entire arsenal against Russia. Moscow responds in kind against all NATO, the US and the EU targets in a matter of minutes and by the time the dust settles half of Earth’s population will be turned into ash. With the other half wishing they were dead. A truly troubling proposition.
To Be Continued Tomorrow…...(Why Am I Seeing This On A Financial Website?)
