Countdown To Zero Page #2

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of a nuclear detonation

by accident,by error

or by misjudgment.

We like to think that

the U.S. military

or other military who are

controlling nuclear weapons

are perfect organizations ,

they will never fail .

We expect them to have 100% reliability.

But even the well-disciplined,

very professional U.S military

made serious serious mistakes

with nuclear weapons.

An atomic bomb breaks loose

from a mounting shakle / i

in a B-47 jet over

Florence, South Carolina, / i

causing a sensational freak accident./ i

A B-52 bomber was loaded with nuclear weapons by mistake / i

An American airplane flew 1500 miles

across the nation we are told, / i

with six nuclear warheads on aboard. / i

And nobody knew.

not the aircraft crew, / i

not the commanders on ground. / i

we have had B-52's explode

in the air

during refueling mission

causing 4 thermonuclear weapons

to fall onto the Spain territory

and into the Mediterranean.

A B-52 bomber

carrying nuclear weapons / i

crashed near U.S

Air Force space in Greenland, / i

scattering deadly plutonium

over the icecap. / i

In 1960, a BOMARC air defence missile exploded,

melting a nuclear warhead.

In 1968, the USS Scorpion

sank

of Azores.

Nuclear weapons on board

were never found.

A B-47 bomber disappeared

over the Mediterranean.

Nuclear weapons on board

were never located.

In 1959, an aircraft crashed near

Whidbey Island, Washington.

The nuclear debt charges

were not recovered.

Skyhawk's strike aircraft

carrying a nuclear weapon

rolled off an aircraft carrier

in the Sea of Japan

The weapon was never recovered.

There are many ways

in which efforts

to make a system

more reliable

actually backfire and make it less reliable

Sometimes we had

a redundant system.

and backup systems

so that if one fails,

another can take its place.

But complexity is the

enemy of reliability.

Because as you add

system is making more complex

because its harder to understand

all the potential interactions.

Its that unlikely bizzare interaction

where one person interacts with

another in a way that wasnt anticipated

or one backup system interacts

with another

in ways that you cant figure out ahead of time

and therefore cant plan around

Those are what cause the problems

In 1961, a B-52

broke apart in midair

over Goldsboro,

North Carolina

causing two nuclear bombs to fall

One parachute functioned properly,

and that bomb survived with minor damage

The other parachute failed to open

When that bomb hit

five of six safety devices malfuntioned

A single switch prevented

a nuclear explosion.

When i worked

in the Pentagon

i believed that the likelyhood

of a nuclear weapons accident

in the United States occuring was very low

I still believe that

But low probablity events happen

they happen all the time.

There's a first time in

history for every event.

Eventually those low probablity events will occur

No! That supposed to happen?

Like there is probably

every country in the world today

How many countries do i think

have nuclear weapons?

- List them?

- China.

I dont think i suckup for this.

- UK. may be

America i'm guessing

Oh. Oh. Us Oh

I .. that was a given

- France.

- Germany?

- Australia?

- Canada? I do not think Canada

- No, not Japan.

- There's more. I know there's more.

Iraq, Iran,

Saudi Arabia.

All other countries. They are not

telling us. They have them

- Afghanistan?

- North Korea?

- North Korea.

-Do they?Ok, North Korea.

Who knows?Who knows exactly?

I think that's it.Yeah

After the United States detonated.

the first atomic bomb

in the New Mexico desert

nuclear technology

began to spread

and other countries

began to acquire

their own

nuclear bombs.

Great credit is due

for this mighty British achievement

for it seems that by the possession of such

deadly weapons peace can be maintained

in this troubled world

At Reggane,

deep in the Sahara

France goes forward

with the detonation

of her first

atomic bomb. / i

The explosion carries France

a step forward / i

towards the dream of General. de Gaulle

towards national glory restored . / i

This is a giagantic success

of Mao Tse-Tung's thought. / i

Our nations first nuclear test

surpasses the levels of

the first nuclear tests / i

of the United States,

Britain and France. / I

Their criminal intent to block and prevent

our nations/ i

people from nuclear weapons / i

have been thoroughly smashed/ i

Pakistan, which has often

went to war with India, / i

might now have to join the

once select nuclear community / i

in self defense

and warned:
/ i

"numbers in the nuclear club will not stop at six"/ i

One Prime Minister of Pakistan said

Pakistan would build a nuclear weapon

even if it meant that the people would

have to eat grass

"We will make the bomb even if

we have to eat grass. "

In Karachi, they

poured into the streets / i

pulling the symbol of the

power they were celebrating. / i

The bomb has become a

source of national pride. / i

thought there was a jubliation

in the streets of Pakistan.

The first time we achieved something

which places us in the ranks

of very very few

countries of the world.

We were proud

of our scientists,

we were proud of

our capabilities,

we were proud of our strength.

The people thought that :

"Now let India

do anything to Pakistan.

"Let's see what they do."

I had North Korean officials say to me

a lesson they took away from the

toppling of Saddam Hussein was that

Saddam was ousted because

he didnt have a bomb

They were not going to let the same

thing happen to Kim Jong-Il.

Therefore,they needed

to have a bomb.

North Korea has

feared of disappearing

into what the communists used to call

the "dustbin of history,"

like all their other communist friends

and they see the nukes

as the one thing that makes them the country

that is taken seriously by the U.S

and the other big players in the neighbourhood

Every country has enemies.

Every country can use

self defense

as a rationale for

acquiring nuclear weapons.

But if every country does so

it is a much more dangerous world.

When we see something that is

technically sweet, / i

you do it . / i

That is the way it was

the atomic bomb.

The father of the atomic bomb,

Robert Oppenheimer / i

gave some frank answers to

some important questions in 1947. / i

I have been asked whether in

the years to come will it be

pssible to kill

in the 20 largest

American towns / i

by the use of

atomic bombs / i

in a single night. / i

I am afraid that the answer to

that question is yes. / i

I have been asked whether

there is hope for the naions security / i

In keeping secrets some of the

knowledge / i

which has gone into the making of the bombs. / i

I am afraid there is no such hope

A nuclear weapon in a sense

is the most

simple configuration of

nuclear material

that you can imagine

You just bring together

certain quantity of

fissile material

highly enriched uranium

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