Read "Nuclear War: A Scenario" by Annie Jacobsen

We talk about how fragile life is or how some things are unthinkable and unimaginable. But thoughts like these are easy to push aside until an interview like this comes along.

The interview is with Annie Jacobsen, author of ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario,’ published last week by Dutton. As stated in the author’s note, “A nuclear strike on the Pentagon is just the beginning of a scenario the finality of which will be the end of civilization as we know it. This is the reality of the world in which we all live. The nuclear war scenario proposed in this book could happen tomorrow. Or later today.”

After interviewing dozens of military and civilian experts who have built the weapons, have been privy to the response plans, and have been responsible for those decisions should they have needed to be made, the author offers a stark warning: “We sit on the razor’s edge. Vladimir Putin has said he is ‘not bluffing’ about the possibility of using weapons of mass destruction should NATO overstep on Ukraine, and North Korea accuses the US of having ‘a sinister intention to provoke a nuclear war.’ For generations, the American public has viewed a nuclear World War III as a remote prospect, but the threat is ever-present.”

Here is one excerpt from this alarming interview:

“Reporting and writing this book was one surprise after another. For example, I did not know until I had it confirmed with US nuclear experts that North Korea does not announce any of its missile tests, whereas the other countries do. North Korea has launched 100 missiles since January 2022. After you read my book, you realize what happens to the US nuclear command and control apparatus in the seconds and minutes after a launch is seen by the advanced super satellite system we have. You can now imagine what goes on in those command centers.”

Any such test launch could trigger a mistake, a misfire, or an imagined deliberate attack. And since policy dictates the US must respond brutally, we would.

Should we all be prepared for such an event? If so, how do we prepare?

Beyond President Barack Obama’s FEMA chief, Craig Fugate’s suggestion to stock up on Pedialyte, it might also be wise and helpful to curtail our fascination with all the brain-numbing daily nonsense we ingest faithfully and wastefully. Doing so could give us more time to take stock of what really matters, and who, and find ways to build on those activities and relationships for however long any of us may have left.

My wish is for everyone to click the link below to read this interview, and if not frightened enough, please buy the book.
https://thebulletin.org/2024/04/an-interview-with-annie-jacobsen-author-...