Almost 73 years ago now, the future of warfare was changed forever with one simple move, (Or two). That move was the dropping of the Atomic bomb first on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and then on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. This altered the way war could be perceived to an already bad killing of people changed to the utter annihilation of an entire nation. Once these were dropped, multiple nations started developing and testing their own nuclear weapons, including the Soviet Union and Great Britain developing their own within ten years of the drop. France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea have all also tested their own nuclear weapons in the more recent past, with North Korea being the latest in 2006.
Right after the ending of World War II came the Cold War. This was a silent battle between the Communist country of the Soviet Union and the United States, and there were multiple threats of nuclear warfare. In 1962 came the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union put a plan in motion to install missiles in Cuba in response to rumors that the United States was planning on overthrowing the Cuban Government and assassinating Fidel Castro. Eventually there was a standoff and the Soviets backed down, but a nuclear war seemed to be very possible.
Now, with Donald J. Trump as the president of our country, the possibility of nuclear warfare feels even more present than before. When running for president, he used the option of nuclear weapons as a real way to deal with problems. He tweets all the time about random stuff, including nuclear policies, etc, such as in December of 2016 when he tweeted out that the United States needs to expand its nuclear capabilities. He has also tweeted about North Korea as a threat as well a Russia. “North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”1. He talks about nuclear war like there is a winner out of it, but no one would come out on top. More recently he also tweeted about Russia and that they would shoot any missiles down that are aimed at Syria, but boasts that we have “smart” missiles. He acts like a child trying to prove he is the best. The evolution of the Atomic bomb from World War II to now is honestly horrifying and the potential war to come is terrifying. Read more