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#tacticalnuclearweaponsukraine There is a banner article in today's newspaper talking about the possibility of the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
This possibility has caused me great concern. Last Friday morning, I was honored to be invited to join a Zoom meeting with Zanny Minton Beddoes, editor of The Economist magazine. She had three specialists with her. One man had spent 20 years in Moscow. He had interviewed Vladimir Putin many times. He had been at social events with him. He knows Putin well. Also present was their specialist in military affairs. The consensus was that there was a 10% chance that Putin would employ weapons of mass destruction like chemicals, biological agents, or tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Early yesterday morning, I was watching MSNBC. They made the prediction that Putin would detonate a tactical nuclear weapon within two weeks in an unpopulated part of Ukraine. It would be "a warning shot to the west." I was concerned.
My dear friend, Dr. Seth Shostak, stepped up late in the morning and clarified things. He interviewed a man whom few of you and heard of but should get to know. His name is Eric Schlosser. He is a professional investigative reporter. He has devoted his whole journalistic career to investigating the nuclear arsenals of the nine countries in the world with nuclear weapons. He is the author of the authoritative book "Command And Control-The Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety." Here is a link if any of you want to go further in-depth:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594202273/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&ps1&source=patrick.net

Eric impressed me with his knowledge, integrity, and great understanding of the subject. He pointed out that, as of yesterday morning, all of Putin's tactical nuclear warheads were still in their bunkers as per spy satellite reports. (Gosh, he says some incredible sources!!) None of these warheads had been removed to mount on ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, or aircraft. I felt a sense of relief.
Eric went on to give a sobering report on the safety of US nuclear weapons. He pointed out that from the late 1940s until now, there had been 1,000 incidents of accidents with US nuclear warheads that could have led to the detonation of a US warhead on US territory with devastating results. He warned that both US and Russian nuclear weapons were aging. He said that so far we had been lucky. After seeing how poorly Russian military equipment has performed in Ukraine, I wonder how good their nuclear arsenal is.