We are one misstep away from nuclear annihilation

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ope Francis is clear when he says that “the use of nuclear weapons, as well as their mere possession, is immoral.” The pope says that those who cite the so called advantage of mutual deterrence, of having nuclear weapons that threaten Mutually Assured Destruction [MAD] “inevitably ends up poisoning relationships between peoples and obstructing any possible form of real dialogue.” He said the dangers of nuclear weapons being used as a form of “blackmail that should be repugnant to all consciences of humanity.” 

The development of the nuclear technology to generate electricity was hailed as a triumph of modern technology. However, we can never forget and must be on our guard given the history that nuclear power was first used as a weapon: the atom bombs that wiped out two Asian cities in Japan in World War II. 

The horrific death of almost a million people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki made the world realise that a no one can win a nuclear war. It gave rise to the MAD doctrine that a nuclear war would be a war of mutually assured destruction would result from an exchange of missiles with nuclear warheads, therefore no one would dare use them again. 

However Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, threatened that possibility in Ukraine. He remembers that the nuclear bombing of Japan by the United States immediately brought about the capitulation and unconditional surrender of Japan.

Putin is making a similar threat to Europe over Ukraine. What is his game plan? To threaten Europe to get Ukraine to surrender, the West to lift sanctions and stop supplying arms to the Ukrainian military? 

Russian troops occupy the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and shelling the areas close to it while blaming Ukraine. Its absurd that Ukraine would destroy its own nuclear power plants and contaminate Europe. The visit of international delegation of experts should give us a report on the safety and dangers of the plant. 

Putin is making a similar threat to Europe over Ukraine. What is his game plan? To threaten Europe to get Ukraine to surrender, the West to lift sanctions and stop supplying arms to the Ukrainian military? 

Russian shelling even knocked out the power line that fed electricity to the plant to maintain it’s cooling system. The backup generators kicked in just in time to prevent a very dangerous situation. If the cooling fails in a nuclear power plant it melts down and results in a reactor explosion. Nothing can stop it. 

That’s why the Philippines should stay away from the crazy notions of building module nuclear power plants. Enemies could capture one and hold the nation to ransom. If they are extremists, they might do what was done to the Twin Towers in the 9/11 attacks— reminder that humans can commit the most horrific acts of destruction without respect for life.

That is the extremist thinking, or non-thinking, of Vladimir Putin. His forces cannot defeat Ukraine so he has unleashed the most horrific shelling, bomb and missile strikes at civilian targets all over the country. He has no respect for human life and the human suffering it is causing. He is a leader with great power and no empathy. He is very dangerous; threatening to shell the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant thus unleashing nuclear radiation until he achieves surrender and wins the war. He is like a petulant child holding the dinner plates and smashing them one by one until he gets what he wants. The result would be like what happened at Chernobyl: a cloud of deadly destructive radiation could blow across Europe. 

All nuclear plants are susceptible to catastrophic damage from natural causes such as earthquakes, typhoons and terrorist acts. This reality should make the Filipino people reject the moves and proposals to build several modular nuclear power plants now that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is inoperable, outdated and beyond refurbishment

When power stations fail they can bring widespread death and destruction as nuclear radiation goes on killing people and animals for decades. The Chernobyl nuclear plant that exploded when the cooling failed has left a vast area uninhabitable. The Fukushima power plant in Japan also exploded after a major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling to three reactors.

All nuclear plants are susceptible to catastrophic damage from natural causes such as earthquakes, typhoons and terrorist acts. This reality should make the Filipino people reject the moves and proposals to build several modular nuclear power plants now that the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is inoperable, outdated and beyond refurbishment. 

Disposing of nuclear waste is dangerous and very costly. The Philippine’s foreign debt is in the trillions of pesos already and the country can hardly afford to pay off the annual interest payments that are mandated by law, no less. More debt will sink the Philippines. 

The threat of a limited nuclear strike by Russia in Ukraine is real. There is greatly increased tension between Russia and the five Western nuclear nations. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council the US, China, Russia, the UK and France, clearly said in 2021 that “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” And yet they are all upgrading their nuclear weapons stockpiles, which totally reach 13,000 worldwide. 

That is down from about 236,000 during the Cold War, thanks to a treaty in which all agreed to reduce the number. The Federation of American Scientists estimates the UK alone has 190 nuclear warheads, of which 120 are ready to fire at any time. Imagine if they are all at the ready for MAD, primed to unleash a nuclear war. 

He is like a petulant child holding the dinner plates and smashing them one by one until he gets what he wants. The result would be like what happened at Chernobyl: a cloud of deadly destructive radiation could blow across Europe

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ope Francis said that disarmament treaties, including the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, [TPNW], “are more than just legal obligations. They are also moral commitments based on trust among states and their representatives, rooted in the trust that citizens place in their governments, with the ethical consequences for current and future generations of humanity.”

The nuclear non-proliferation treaty [NPT] was up for review at August’s UN Security Council meeting in New York, but after years of negotiation, Russia blocked the final document of this critical and urgent treaty because it mentioned the danger of the troops occupying and the shelling of areas around the Zaporizhzhia power plant. Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said she was “deeply disappointed” at the lack of agreement. 

“Russia obstructed progress by refusing to compromise on proposed text accepted by all other states,” she said.

Not only does Putin threaten Europe with the shelling around the Zaporizhzhia power plant as we write, but he has spoken of a possible nuclear strike “if provoked.” 

Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation. We have been extraordinarily lucky so far. But luck is not a strategy. Nor is it a shield from geopolitical tensions boiling over into nuclear conflict

UN secretary general, António Guterres

In response, UN secretary general, António Guterres, spoke out at 10th review conference of the NPT: “Following Russia’s unprovoked and unlawful war of aggression against Ukraine, we call on Russia to cease its irresponsible and dangerous nuclear rhetoric and behaviour.” 

According to the Kremlin, Putin insisted that Russia has remained faithful to the treaty’s “letter and spirit” and that there could be “no winners” in a nuclear war, 

“Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” Guterres told the meeting, adding, “We have been extraordinarily lucky so far. But luck is not a strategy. Nor is it a shield from geopolitical tensions boiling over into nuclear conflict.” 

He challenged all nations to wake up and “put humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons… Eliminating nuclear weapons is the only guarantee they will never be used.” 

Most people live in ignorance of the terrible dangers that the powerful and intellectual humans have wrought in the world. We know what nuclear radiation can do to life on earth, it can eliminate it. A nuclear war would cause a nuclear winter, the resulting black clouds that would block the sun for months, or years, and all life would die. That’s just how bad it is.

We have to work on sanity, peace, rational dialogue and reach a consensuses between nations to live with mutual respect for all life on planet Earth and not Mutual Assured Destruction.  

Father Shay Cullen
www.preda.org