As the world gets closer to nuclear forgetting, where are the opposition? |Simon Tisdall

nUclear weapons – their deadly threats, dark history and future spread – are back in the headlines again, and as usual, the news is worrying and unique. Russia’s decision last week Formally give up The 1987 treaty banning medium-sized nuclear forces (INF) from medium-sized and short-term nuclear missiles completed a key pillar of global weapons control. Leaders in the United States and Russia are Mocking each other Like a primary school student.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been several times Threat the West He used nuclear weapons during the Ukrainian war. Last November, Russian troops open fire They have a new Oreshnik hypersonic, a nuclear-capable intermediate missile in Dnipro. Putin brags that it can reach any city in Europe at a speed of 10 times that of a “meteorite” – if yes, that’s an obvious violation. Moscow decided to abandon the treaty NATO action. However, it has long been bypassed by it in practice, especially by Basic missiles In Kaliningrad, Russia was occupied in the Baltic Sea and in Berarus.

That is to say, Russia has a little point of view on NATO. Donald Trump first Violation of INF Treaty It can be traced back to 2018. The subsequent accumulation of nuclear-capable missiles, launchers, aircraft and bombs, mainly made by the United States, in NATO state in Europe, shocked Moscow. It should also warn Europeans. In the 1980s, the deployment of Pershing and cruise missiles in the United States Inspired enthusiastic protests The whole continent. In contrast, today’s ominous tick feet The Doomsday Clockfrom 89 seconds to midnight, is closer to disaster than ever, mainly accompanied by a creepy silence.

Trump’s dramatic claim that brought U.S. nuclear submarines closer to Russia last week was a response to the original threat of former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the infamous Putin Stooge. It was another cold moment. But if this stupid confrontation would remind sleeping European public opinion of the growing risk of nuclear confrontation, it would achieve useful purposes. Maybe people grow complacent. Maybe they have too many other concerns. Maybe the UK is waiting for the government, Suspected of secret hiding The U.S. nuclear gravity bomb at East England Air Force Base failed to tell the truth again. (The British government refuses to say whether U.S. nuclear weapons are now in the RAF’s Leckenheath.)

Whatever the reason, it falls on the children of the Cold War – Greenham’s daughterfor the heirs of Ban-Bomb protesters, CND’s ignorant activist – louder warning: This method is extinct. But why did they hear Tox alone? Everything happened again, only this time it was worse, everyone was the target. If not examined, today’s powerful nuclear weapons could turn the Earth into a universal killing field. Last week’s ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima and Nagasaki should be Deemed as a warning And reminders.

Nuclear weapons have accumulated rapidly in Europe. The United States has stored nuclear bombs in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Türkiye. Facilities are now available in the UK – Purchase nuclear energy fighter. German Club Host Tomahawk cruise missile and next year’s treble missiles. The United States is expanding missile bases Poland and Romania. NATO countries, e.g. Denmark and Norway Missile exercises aimed at establishing the “control” of the Baltic Sea.

All of this is in the name of self-defense, mainly against Putin’s Russia. Similarly, NATO decided in June to increase its defense budget to 5% of GDP. The global situation is equally disturbing. Nine nuclear weapons countries – UK, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States – Spend $100.2 billionAccording to the International Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), last year’s nuclear weapons (ICAN) were $3,169 per second or $3,169 per second. Growing 11% in 2023.

According to Trump’s proposed budget plan for 2026, the United States has been the biggest tendency to date. Increase funds Because its nuclear weapons include new Sentinel ICBMs, it reached 26% to $87 billion. Do your best for global insecurity, China has Doubled Since 2020, its nuclear storage is 500 warheads.

Who can doubt where all of this is? Europe, Asia and the Middle East have been transformed into potential nuclear battlefields for the first time since the Cold War, and now the difference is that atomic bombs and missiles are not deterrents, but offensive, war-prone weapons. The spread of tactical warheads of lower products is said to have enabled “limited” nuclear war. Once the red line passes, an unstoppable chain reaction may occur.

The collapse of the Weapon Control Agreement – The new strategic weapon reduction treaty (new starting point) will be beside February 2026 – Breaking the safety net. The signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are gradually disarming “sincerely”; instead, they are escalating rapidly. Dehumanized AI systems may increase the risk of unexpected ends. Rogue countries such as Israel and North Korea are constantly pushing boundaries. Trump’s impetuousness and Putin’s mental illness will increase the sense of life in global shooting galleries.

It may be a big difference. In June 1945, a group of University of Chicago nuclear physicists led by James Franck told President Harry Truman that the unannounced atomic bomb attack on Japan was “Not suitable“. They predict that the detonation of new weapons will trigger an uncontrollable global arms race. Their warnings have been rejected and the report has been suppressed. Now, the United Nations has tried again. Consistent with the 2021 treaty Canceling nuclear weaponsa high-power international science team was appointed last month Conduct an inspection The “physical impacts and social consequences” of nuclear war “to local, regional and planetary scales.”

The challenge is huge, and the results are uncertain. But somebody has to stop being crazy somewhere somehow. It is still possible that, unlike in 1945, Wiser consultants will prevail.