The Second Lateran Council under Pope Innocent II in 1139 banned the use of crossbows against Christians. (These devices could still be used against non-believers.) According to some writers, the objection had less to do with religion than with the fact that a bolt fired from a steel crossbow could penetrate armor, so that a peasant could kill a knight.
The crossbow lost its patina at the Battle of Crecy, Aug. 26, 1346, when an English force, armed with longbows, defeated a much larger French army using crossbows. The difference was in rate of fire, since the crossbow could fire about four bolts a minute compared to a longbow firing 10-12 arrows in the same time. Still, the crossbow was, possibly, the first doomsday weapon, unless there was some unreported ban on the use of stone axes.
On March 2, Vladimir Putin told the world that Russia had developed a number of nuclear weapons delivery systems that could travel unlimited distances and evade any defensive system. What seems most exciting is that, according to Foreign Policy magazine, Russia is asking the public to suggest names for the cruise missile and the nuclear torpedo. The details are posted on http://vote.mil.ru/vote/oms.htm. Google will offer to translate, but the Russians offer the site in several languages – see the link in the upper right of the Russian site. There is no prize being offered and apparently the name “Missile McMissile-Face” has already been submitted.
The Foreign Policy article notes, “The US developed a nuclear-powered cruise missile in the 1960s, but it was canceled because, well, it was insane. The nuclear-powered ramjet was literally deafening to people on the ground and left a trail of radioactivity from the unshielded reactor.“
If you plan to destroy the world, it should be done quietly and tastefully.
Since the 1960s the world had been living with the reality of mutually assured destruction (MAD). The Ploughshares Fund estimates that Russia has 7,000 nuclear warheads and the US has 6,800. Of the US’ arsenal, Ploughshares said, “We estimate that approximately 1,740 warheads are currently deployed, of which roughly 1,590 strategic warheads are deployed on ballistic missiles and at bomber bases in the United States.”
Another 150 tactical bombs are deployed in Europe. These are roughly according to the terms of the “new START” treaty negotiated during the Obama administration. The warheads are divided among the nuclear triad of ground based missiles, submarine based missiles, and bombs.
In 1972, during the Nixon presidency, Washington and Moscow signed a treaty to slow the arms race. The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty barred both nations from deploying national defenses against long-range ballistic missiles, on the theory that if one country had a better defense, the other would promptly build up its offensive capability. In 2002, under President George W. Bush, the United States withdrew from the ABM treaty.
President Putin said that Bush’s withdrawal was “a mistake” and, in an interview on NBC’s Megyn Kelly Today, said “My point of view is that the individuals saying that a new Cold War has started are not really analysts; they do propaganda … If we are to speak of an arms race, then an arms race started precisely at that (the US withdrawal from the ABM Treaty) point”.
President Obama’s legacy with regard to nuclear weapons is mixed. Although in 2009 he expressed a goal of reducing the number of atomic weapons and eventually ridding the world of them. He advocated a “no first strike” policy and reduced the number of nuclear warheads, but at the sane time, the remaining weapons became more accurate and deadly.
According to Reuters “The United States under Obama transformed its main hydrogen bomb into a guided smart weapon, made its submarine-launched nuclear missiles five times more accurate, and gave its land-based long-range missiles so many added features that the Air Force in 2012 described them as “basically new.” While President Trump has attempted to undo almost all of President Obama’s legacy, President Trump has embraced the nuclear renewal program, and has repeatedly refused to place any limitations on use of nuclear weapons. He has repeatedly said that he wants to “keep all options on the table.” Russia has said that President Trump has rejected offers to extend the new START treaty or otherwise discuss arms limitations.
Based on the information made available in the international press, including Russian sources, there seems to be no more reason to fear the new technology of Russian weapons than we feared the previous generations. What we have to fear is the attitudes of the people who control the use of these weapons: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Donald John Trump. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in New York. Email sdu01@outlook.com.
From The Progressive Populist, April 1, 2018
Blog | Current Issue | Back Issues | Essays | Links
About the Progressive Populist | How to Subscribe | How to Contact Us
PO Box 819, Manchaca TX 78652