START is a Facade--Nuclear Bombs are Reality and Must be Eliinated to Preserve Life on Earth

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty negotiated by President Obama and his administration was approved by the Senate two days ago and signed by President Obama. What is the significance of this treaty and what does it mean to the two signing countries Russia and the United States of America? Since more than 200 million of Americans living today have almost no knowlwdge concerning the use of nuclear weapons, and another 50 million have only the vaguest knowledge of what such weapons are capable of I write this blog to stimulate some individual knowledge seeking to understand the biggest threat to human life, or possibly any life, existing on our planet.

Implementation of START will reduce the total number of nuclear bombs held by both countries and will utilize regular inspections to verify compliance by the two countries. It does not slow the modernization and development of advance nuclear weapons and in fact will probably accelerate deevlopment by both countries to stay ahead of the other by making sure that the bombs that do exist are more effective and powerful. Approval by our Senate followed assurance and sufficient defense budget authority to assure this prerequisite.

START is essentially a facade, albeit possibly well meaning, that attemps to prove that both Russia and the United States want to continue diplomacy and avoid another cold war. This is good. The threat of nuclear devastation will not be reduced and tens of thousands of nuclear bombs will still exist and be ready for missle launch and other deployment from land and the oceans from submarines. Other countries besides Russia and the USA also have hundreds of nuclear bombs ready to use. Some of these Countries are often trigger happy and may lauch a bomb suddenly and with very little provacation. Pakasitan and India are two such countries that have many hundreds of nuclear bombs at the ready. Israel, although not admitting to harboring nuclear weapons could deploy them at an instant. Iran is on the path to have their nuclear arsenal. France, England, North Korea and China all posess nuclear bombs and although some pledge that they will not proliferate their nuclear weapon arsenal they all will continue to improve the lethality of ther arsenal and delivery capabilities.The number of nuclear bombs may be relatively constant or decline somewhat but the lethality continues to incraes and fewrer bombs are capable of greater devastation. The world nuclear bomb arsenal is many hundreds of times larger than required to potentially kill all life on Earth and render the remnants of our planet uninhabitable for millenia due to long lasting and deadly radioctve isotopes following the immediate ionizing radiation and inferno that can instantly incinerate and kill anyone or any life form nearby (distance depends upon the power of the bomb, and may range from several thousands of feet to over a hundred miles), and can render the planets largest cities as desolate uninhabitable terrain for durations longer than life had previously existed there, for hundresds if not thousands of years. Thus far

The extensive testing of nuclear weapons by many nations from the 1940's up to now that exposed millions of our citizens to radioactive isotopes, that caused cancer and other diseases during the above-gound testing of weapons in New Mexico and elsewhere in the world from the 1940's to the 1970's. Finally above ground testing was recognized for causing deaths and diseases in people who were ingesting and exposed to these deadly radioactve isotopes that were airborne and found in foods and milk. Testing than went underground where it continues today when necessary to confirm the lethality or function of a new device.

Aside from nuclear power plant accidents and failures, the continuous generation of deadly radioactive isotopes from atmospheric testing is now curtailed, but not eliminated from other sources. Spent fuel rods generated by nuclear powere plants have become the main source of harmful radiation that requires underground storage away from ground water and ambient air release.

Only one country was directly exposed to actual nuclear bombs and their deadly devastation. The two Japanes cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destoyed and hundreds of thousands of civilians were incinerated and killed instantly or suffered and died from the after-effects of instant radiation and extended radioactive isotope exposure. The two relatively small (equivalent in power to about 15 to 20 kilotons of TNT) atom bombs of the fusion type were dropped by aircraft in August 1945, and soon after the Japanese surrended and World War II ended. Nearly 400,000 people, mainly Japanes civilians, died either instantly or over a period of several decades as a result of exposre to radiation and ingestion of long-life radioctive isotopes into their bodies. For those of you who have never read about the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki you should read at least one definitive book about the subject. Many are available and must be part of your to-read list to better understand the consequences of using nuclear weapons.

Returning now to the new START and having a modicum of knowledge about nuclear bombs and their killing power, I suggest that you keep updated on this vital subject. START is only a collection of words and official signatures that by itself is virtually meaningless. Humankind posesses "advanced" nuclear bombs that are about 500 to 1,000 times more powerful than either of the two bombs that killed many hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in 1945. over 65 years ago.

Those of you who are about 75 years old or younger have virtually no memory of the actual bombings. Nuclear bombs are simply two words and have virtually no personal link to your life. The link, however is there and the importance is greater than ever. The word in START do nt, cannot, assure civilization that the many thousands of nuclear bombs that exist today will never be used. Only humankind and indeed a very small number of leaders of nine countries and potential terrorist groups, however stable or unstable, will determine whether more lethal nuclear bombs will ever be used again.

Human indifference or ignorance of the threat to humanity will enable irrational leaders to take whatever action they deem necessary, including the use of nuclear weapons. Teaties are fine, but word cannot and will not prevent the future use of the most letal type of weapon that has ever existed on Earth. Two atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 must never be forgotten. This ushered in the Atomic Age and sixty-five years later humankind has not been able to eliminate such weapons, nor is there an apparent desire to do so. Can the technological clock ever be unwound or are we satisfied with words and treaties to pretend that nuclear bombs are a relic of the past? Humans alone can prevent the furure use of nuclear bombs, and only if all nations and peoples require their leaders to help assure continuation of life on Earth. This requires among other actions the total elimination of all nuclear weapons, not treaties that pretend to solve or obscure the problem of instantaneous nuclear devastation.Action not words in treaties can lead to elimination of all nuclear bombs. We must all be part of the action train to eliminate all nuclear weapons forever.