Author: R J Adams

January 1961, three days after John F Kennedy’s inauguration as President of the United States, a US B-52 bomber carrying two, 4-megaton, nuclear bombs broke up over Goldsboro, North Carolina. One of the bombs fell harmlessly to earth. The other, assuming it was over target and being released, began its detonation process.

There were four fail/safe devices incorporated into the weapon. The first three failed to activate. The fourth, a simple low-voltage switch, worked, preventing a catastrophe so huge it would be impossible for man’s imagination to comprehend it.^[1]

Four megatons: the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were only twenty kilotons each – one two-hundredth the power of this monstrosity.

It’s more than fifty years since this accident occurred. Yet, only now is the US government releasing the facts. Investigative journalist Eric Schlosser obtained the information under the Freedom of Information Act.

The 1960s: the Cold War at its height; everyone brainwashed into fearing a nuclear strike. If that bomb had exploded – would Kennedy’s government have blamed it on the Russians?

^{[1] “US plane in 1961 ‘nuclear bomb near-miss'” BBC, September 21st 2013}

^{FOOTNOTE: Their have been over a thousand near accidents with nuclear devices. Many of these were minor. Others were not.}

^{Click image to enlarge}

This image ^{(courtesy of “Twilight”}) really needs no interpretation.

In an interview with ABC this Sunday morning, US President Barack Obama, after discussing the Syrian situation, turned his attention back to Iran, saying:

“What they [Iran] should draw from this lesson is that there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically…

…if you have both a credible threat of force, combined with a rigorous diplomatic effort… you can strike a deal.”

Or, to quote a plethora of Hollywood film Nazis: “You vill do as vee say, or vee have vays to persuade you.”

If you’re bent on making diplomacy work, Mister President, you don’t need a ‘credible threat of force’ to back you up. America’s policy of foreign relations is one of, ‘Do as we say, not as we do’.

Syria has chemical weapons, but never signed the Chemical Weapons Convention 1993. The US signed, but twenty years later still has not destroyed all its stockpile, despite pledging to do so by 2012. Neither, incidentally, has Russia or China.

Iran is developing nuclear power for, it states, peaceful purposes. If it constructs a nuclear bomb, it will have one (1). The US has 5,113 nuclear warheads presently deployed, or in reserve. These are the numbers we know about.^[1]

Diplomacy is a lost art in the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin, known for his tough guy image, has more diplomacy in his little finger than the US Administration en masse.

American media was appalled by Putin’s op-ed in the New York Times recently, but every word was true^[2]. There’s nothing exceptional about Americans, or America. The country’s falling apart. It’s infrastructure is crumbling away. It’s power service is early 20th century.

America spends so much money maintaining its ‘credible threat of force’ there’s nothing left to even educate its kids properly. The only gainer is the defense industry and its many subsidiary suppliers.

Isn’t it about time President Obama and his Congress did their sums and realized that, if they just took time out for a course in basic diplomacy, they’d achieve so much more good in the world at far less of a cost.

Perhaps they could invite Vladimir Putin over on a lecture tour?

^{[1] “US Nuclear Weapons Current Status Wikipedia}

^{[2] “A Plea for Caution From Russia” Vladimir V Putin, New York Times, September 11th 2013}

Last night, September 10th 2013, I suffered six minutes of the US President, Barack Obama, attempting to make his case for waging war on Syria.

After six minutes had passed I could stand to watch and listen no more. What he said in the remainder of his fifteen minute speech became irrelevant. The phrase “supercilious claptrap” was invading my brain. To suggest that by using chemical weapons the Syrian regime was somehow putting the world at risk, that “terrorists” might get hold and make use of them is so absurd as to be laughable, were the situation not so serious.

Syria has had huge stockpiles of chemical weapons for years. The West has never considered them such a threat before. Anyway, any Middle East terrorist worth his salt could lay hands on such weapons easily, without going near Syria. There is already some evidence the sarin gas used in Syria of late was supplied to Jihadist rebels by Saudi Arabia.^[1]

Prior to President Obama’s TV appearance I had just watched an interview with Andrew Bacevich, on the Syrian situation. Bacevich was a long time soldier and is now Professor of History at Boston University. Frankly, listening to President Obama after hearing the wisdom of Bacevich, was akin to switching channels from a top quality documentary to a third-rate reality show.

I don’t often submit long videos for Sparrow Chat readers, but I promise you thirty minutes spent listening to Phil Donahue and Andrew Bacevich will not be a waste of your time. I would like to thank my old blogging pal, Al DeVito, at “Vineyard Views” for bringing it to my attention.

^{[1] “Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack” Mint Press, August 29th 2013}