The following article is part of a library of articles from The Beyond War/IPPNW BBS in Cambridge, MA. Comments or suggestions should be directed to the Beyond War/IPPNW BBS at (617) 731-1575, 300/1200, 8/N/1. or call Andy at (617) 739-4869 (voice). The Following fact sheet is provided by the Beyond War Project: Trident Nuclear Submarine- The Trident nuclear submarine ("Boomer"), the largest submarine in the United States Navy packs more explosive power in its 24 missiles than all the gunpowder exploded in all the wars man has fought to date. ("Christian Science Monitor", 10-14-82) The Trident is 560 feet long; it weighs 18,750 tons. Each of the 24 nuclear missiles it carries weighs 65,000 pounds. Each nuclear missile has 8 independently targeted warheads (nuclear bombs), which means that one Trident nuclear submarine can hit 192 targets (8 x 24 = 192). ("Nuclear Weapons Data Book", Natural Resources Defense Council, 1984.) The firepower in one Trident nuclear submarine can effectively destroy Soviet society. The United States has four Tridents: the Ohio, the Michigan, the Florida, the Georgia. We plan to build 15 of them. (Department of Defense, Selected Acquisition Report, 6-30-82). Typhoon Nuclear Submarine- The Soviet Typhoon nuclear submarine is the largest in the Soviet fleet. It 561 feet long and weighs 25,000 tons. Each of its 20 nuclear missiles carries 8 independently targeted warheads (nuclear bombs). One Typhoon can hit 160 targets (8 x 20 = 160) and can effectively destroy American society. The Soviet Union has two Typhoon submarines and is planning to build 6 more by the early 1990's. (Plomar, Norman. "Guide to the Soviet Navy-3rd Edition." Annapolis, Md. Naval Institute Press, 1983). ("Soviet Military Power, 1984." Dept. of Defense. Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington D.C. 20402.) Nuclear Winter- The "nuclear winter" phenomenon could be triggered when only 1% of the current nuclear weapons arsenal is detonated. When the nuclear bombs explode near the ground they generate a fine dust; those that explode in the air create fire and smoke. The dust and the smoke will block out the sunlight for months; photosynthesis will stop; temperatures on earth will drop drastically; plants, crops, animals and people will die. During this time the lingering radiation will be extremely high, causing serious illness and death. As the nuclear soot and dust settle, deadly solar ultraviolet light will pour over the earth now unprotected by the ozone which will have been damaged by the nuclear bombs. Ultraviolet sunlight will be extremely dangerous to any form of life that remains, These effects will initially begin in the Northern Hemisphere, where it is assumed most of the bombs will be detonated. The environmental effects will find their way to the Southern Hemisphere as the breezes blow the dust and soot across the equator. There is no nation on Earth that will not be affected by a "nuclear winter". Only one of the the superpower countries needs to launch its nuclear weapons to trigger a "nuclear winter". (Ehrlich, Paul; Sagan, Carl; Kennedy, Donald; Roberts, Walter Orr. "the Cold and the Dark.: W.W. Norton & co. 1984). Star Wars- The "Star Wars" program proposes to launch satellite weapons into space that would intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles (nuclear bomb) directed against the United States before they reach their targets in this country. This space-based defense system would trigger a further massive build-up of new weapons by each side which would only escalate the present danger. (Scientific American, Oct. 1984). Even if the "Star Wars" system worked as designed, 5% of the incoming nuclear missiles would still get through and explode on their targets. Detonation of only 1% of the nuclear weapons will create the possibility of a "nuclear winter". (Institute for Space and Security Studies, 7720 Mary Cassat Drive, Potomac, MD 20854). The "Star Wars" program is in the research stage. $26 billion has been allocated for research and development for a 5 year period. (Scientific American, Oct. 1984). Right now the technology does not exist to build such a system. It is estimated that the "Star Wars" defense system would cost in excess of $1 trillion. (San Francisco Chronicle, 8-10-84). Arms Build-Up / Social Cost- There is a social cost we pay for weapons development. There are social programs that need support and do not receive it. In the face of staggering military costs, we must acknowledge the needless death of 40,000 children every day. UNICEF reported the death of 15 million children last year. Most deaths could have been avoided by simple methods at low cost: 5 million died from dehydration caused by simple diarrhea. More than 3 million died from pneumonia. Two million died from measles. A million and a half died from whooping cough. A million died from tetnus. And for every child who dies many more live on in hunger and ill health. (San Francisco Chronicle, 10-26-83). It would cost $6 billion to eliminate most infant deaths worldwide through the use of vaccines and training of community health workers. (San Francisco Chronicle, 10-26-83). $6 billion is the cost of 6 Navy destroyer ships. (U.S. News and World Report, 9-17-84). The government of the world spent $650 billion in 1982 on armaments. Each minute of every day the world spends $1,300,000 for military purposes. In that same time, 30 children die for lack of food and inexpensive vaccines. (Sivard, Ruth. World Military & Social Expenditures, 1982. World Priorities, Box 25140, Washington DC 20007). Ten years ago, the U.N. World Conference pledged itself to eliminate world hunger within a decade - a goal that has not been realized. If 4% of the world's military budget were spent each year on agricultural development, by the year 2000, world hunger could be eliminated. (World Military and Social Expenditures, 1982). Military assistance to the Third World by the developed countries has far outpaced economic aid in the last 20 years - $400 billion in military aid compared to $25 billion in economic aid. (World Military & Social Expenditures, 1983). For every 100,000 people in the world, there are 556 trained soldiers and 85 trained doctors. (World Military & Social Expenditures, 1982). In 32 countries of the world, governments spend more for military purposes than for education and health care combined. (World Military & Social Expenditures, 1982). More than 50% of all our scientists and engineers are engaged in defense related research. (Simon Ramo, founder TRW; Science advisor to President Reagan; in Fortune, 5-16-83). It was once believed that military spending had positive effects on the economy but there is growing evidence that its influence is negative. Military spending does not provide as many jobs for the dollar as compared to the needed areas of our economy. A study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics discovered that the expenditure of $1 billion would create the following number of jobs in the given sectors of the economy: Military Weapons Production 75,700 jobs Mass Transit 92,000 jobs Construction 100,000 jobs Health 138,000 jobs Education 187,300 jobs (Bureau of Labor Statistics Study. "Structure of the U.S. Economy in 1980 and 1985"). In the 35 years proceeding 1982, the United States spent $2.3 trillion for military purposes. THe current proposal for the Dept. of Defense budget is $2.6 trillion for the next 8 years. (Defense Monitor published by the Center for Defense Information). If we spent $2 million a day every day since the year 1 A.D. we would still not have spent $2 trillion. Warning Time- THe nuclear powers of the world are like two scorpions in a bottle-operating under a strategy known as "mutually assured destruction" MAD. The destruction of one country will mean, in the end, the destruction of both the attacked and the attacker. To lessen such a blow we began to think about "counterforce" an attack made against the weapons of our adversary to hopefully cut down on the destructive power of the attack. This attitude inevitably lead to the discussion of "first strike". the idea that we must use our weapons first to assure that they are launched before destroyed in their launchers by our adversary. We, therefore, find ourselves sitting on a razor's edge. If our computers detect a launch by an adversary (accurately or inaccurately - see False Alarms) we have only 25 minutes (the launch and impact time) in the case of land launched missiles - Titan II, Pershing II, MX, Minuteman I & II - and only 7 to 10 minutes (the launch and impact time) in the case of submarine launched missiles - Poseidon, Trident I & II - to decide if we will launch our missiles or not. If we hesitate longer our missiles will be destroyed by the incoming missiles of our adversary. This strategy is often known as the "use them or lose them" strategy. Nuclear War in the 1980's? Christopher Chant & Ian Hogg, 1983. The Nuclear Almanac-Confronting the Atom in War and Peace. Compiled and edited by faculty members at M.I.T., 1984. False Alarms- The North American Defense Command reported 151 computer false alarms in an 18 month period. One had American forces on alert for a full 6 minutes before the error was discovered. (New York Times 11-23-82). In 1979 and the first half of 1980 there were 3,703 "routine missile display conferences", low-level false alerts. Those listed below were sufficiently serious to come within minutes of launching a nuclear war: October 3, 1979 - A radar designed to detect submarine- launched ballistic missiles picked up a low-orbit rocket body that was close to decay and generated a false launch and impact report. November 9, 1979 - The central NORAD computer system indicated a mass attack by incoming missiles as a result of an "inadvertent introduction of simulated data" into the computer. March 15, 1980 - A false warning of major nuclear attack was generated by one of four Soviet submarine launched ballistic missiles being tested during troop training exercises in the Kuril Islands of North Japan. June 3, 1980 - A false warning of a major nuclear attack was generated by a "bad chip in a communications processor computer." June 6, 1980 - The same warning was repeated when the June 3 incident was simulated during investigation of the computer problem. The Nuclear Almanac - Confronting the Atom in War and Peace. Compiled and edited by faculty members at M.I.T., 1984. Proliferation- India, Israel, South Africa, Libya, Pakistan, Iraq, Argentina and Brazil are listed as "emerging nuclear powers" in a recent study done by the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. Because key data with regard to the functioning of a nuclear weapon is now determined by computer analysis, any of the emerging nuclear powers could possess a bomb without having to test it. San Jose Mercury 10- 31-84. Faulty Equipment- Microchips used in the United States weapons arsenal are under suspect because of possible insufficient testing by their manufacturers. One modern jet fighter can carry as many as 10,000 microchips. Peninsula Times Tribune 12-26-83. Other Indicators of Urgency- The respected Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved its "Doomsday Clock" to 3 minutes before midnight at the beginning of 1984. This clock has been used as an indicator for the last 37 years; measuring how close the world is ti a global nuclear confrontation. Only once before in those 37 years has that publication seen fit to place the warning hand any closer to midnight than in stands today. That was done in 1953 in response to the advent of the Hydrogen bomb. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, January 1984. More than 100,000 American Military personnel have some form of access to or responsibility for nuclear weapons. A House subcommittee reported that in 1977 - a typical year - 1,219 of them had to be removed from such duty because of mental disorders, 256 for alcohol abuse and 1,365 for drug abuse. New York Times 11-23-82. Reading List Beyond War: A New Way of Thinking. Beyond War Project, Palo Alto, 1984 This workbook published by the staff of Beyond War can be ordered from the Distribution Dept., 222 High St., Palo Alto 94301 Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. 5801 South Kenwood Ave., Chicago, IL 60637 Every issue of this magazine has pertinent articles on the latest developments in nuclear weapons and the efforts to control them. The Cold and the Dark. Paul Ehrlich, Carl Sagan, Donald Kennedy, Walter Orr Roberts. W.W. Norton & Co., 1984. Written by some of the major scientists involved in the research, this book contains the latest detailed description of "nuclear winter". The Fate of the Earth. Jonathan Schell. Avon, New York, 1982. A beautifully written and comprehensive book on the effects of nuclear war on our planet, and the necessity to save the earth for future generations. People's Guide to National Defense. Shelia Tobias, Peter Goudinoff, Stephan Leader. William & March, New York, 1982. What kind of guns are they buying for your butter? A beginners' guide to defense, weaponry and military spending. The Trimtab Factor. Harold Willens. William Morrow Co., Inc., New York, 1984. The business community is asked to get involved in the effort to prevent nuclear war, and especially the effort to improve U.S.-Soviet relations. This book makes clear the imperative for an end to the nuclear arms race. What About the Russians - And Nuclear War? Ground Zero. Pocket Books, 1982. A survey of essential background information on the Soviet Union and U.S.-Soviet relationships.