Nuclear Weapons

• Only as a last alternative. Otherwise no! The U.S. is under the impression they can't be beat (they have been once re Vietnam) and were attacked on native soil by terrorists. There are those in the rest of the world that would retaliate if the U.S. attacked them first.

• No. The USA do not want any more innocent lives lost, that's why they banned nuclear warfare. Instead, the rely on high tech surgical warfare using highly advanced weapons to accurately destroy the 'real' opponents rather than sacrificing innocent lives through weapons of mass destruction and risking the end of the world.

• Also the USA can be beat, if they lost against the Viet Cong then they could loose to most countries. The USA think they control the world. Britain is most likely the country not to beat in a war (a war not an atomic war) because all they have to defend is a small island and Britain haven't lost a war in over 200 years.

The US Army's Manhattan Project under the military leadership of General Leslie Groves and the scientific directorship of Robert Oppenheimer (the two men in the image above). The project spent two billion dollars, mostly on building factories and other atomic infrastructure, and employed more than 130,000 people at sites scattered across the US.

It is a common misconception that Albert Einstein was part of the Manhattan Project. As a pacifist he refused to perform any war related work and the US Army security would never have granted him the necessary security clearances (they refused to grant Robert Oppenheimer these clearances and it took a direct order from General Groves to override this and get Oppenheimer cleared as Groves believed he was the only scientist that Groves could communicate with about the issues needed to make the project succeed).

The only participation Einstein had was to sign a letter on August 2, 1939 previously written by Leo Szilard (who invented the atomic bomb in 1933 while in London, patent GB630726) addressed to president Franklin Roosevelt. After the letter was sent he knew nothing of whether the US was even studying it or not until he saw the August 6, 1945 newspaper headlines about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima that morning.

8 Confirmed, 1 Suspected.

Known Nuclear Countries:

1. The United States of America
2. The Russian Federation
3. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
4. The French Republic
5. The People's Republic of China
6. The Republic of India
7. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
8. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea

1. The State of Israel

South Africa and Brazil both admitted having capability but no weapons. Libya recently abandoned (2007) its programs and Iran is presumed to be actively pursuing.

Actually the Germans were on track to build the first atom bomb until many key scientists defected to the US/Great Britain. That enabled the US to create the first bomb and drop it in 1945 which led to the end of WW2.

Answer

The Nazis were nowhere near developing an atomic bomb, the "defecting" scientists mentioned above having left Germany well before WWII. Several were of course, Jews. The Manhattan Project was a joint Allied effort with scientists from many countries apart from the US including Britain, Germany, Hungary and Italy. A German, Klaus Fuchs, was a spy for the Russians which how they so quickly developed their own bomb (and why Stalin wasn't as surprised as he should have been when the Allies used their three bombs).

The United States of America created and exploded the first atomic bomb.

The events that took place in a remote area of New Mexico during the predawn hours of July 16, 1945 forever changed the world. Here, the incredible destructive powers of the atom were first unleashed and what had been merely theoretical became reality.

The blast, .034 seconds after detonation The test was the culmination of three years' planning and development within the super secret Manhattan Project headed by General Leslie R. Groves. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer directed the scientific team headquartered at Los Alamos, New Mexico. An isolated corner of the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range located 230 miles south of Los Alamos was selected for the test that was given the code-name "Trinity."

Even before the bomb was tested, a second bomb was secretly dispatched to the Pacific for an attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Preparations for the test included the building of a steel tower that would suspend the bomb one hundred feet above ground. Many were apprehensive - there were concerns that the blast might launch a cataclysmic reaction in the upper atmosphere leading to world destruction. Some feared the consequences of radio-active fallout on civilian populations surrounding the test site. Still others feared the test would be an outright dud. Observers were sent to surrounding towns to monitor the results of the blast and medical teams were kept on alert.

Finally, the rains that had delayed the test for almost two weeks subsided and in the darkness of that July morning history was made.

"We were reaching into the unknown and we did not know what might come of it."

Two days after the blast, General Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, sent a Top Secret memorandum to Secretary of War Stimson detailing the events of that morning. Groves included the description of General Thomas Farrell who was in an observation hut close to the blast along with a hand-full of scientists and other personnel. We join General Farrell's account a few hours before the explosion:

"The scene inside the shelter was dramatic beyond words. In and around the shelter were some twenty-odd people concerned with last minute arrangements prior to firing the shot. Included were: Dr. Oppenheimer, the Director who had borne the great scientific burden of developing the weapon from the raw materials made in Tennessee and Washington and a dozen of his key assistants - Dr. Kistiakowsky, who developed the highly special explosives; Dr. Bainbridge, who supervised all the detailed arrangements for the test; Dr. Hubbard, the weather expert, and several others. Besides these, there were a handful of soldiers, two or three Army officers and one Naval officer. The shelter was cluttered with a great variety of instruments and radios.

For some hectic two hours preceding the blast, General Groves stayed with the Director, walking with him and steadying his tense excitement. Every time the Director would be about to explode because of some untoward happening, General Groves would take him off and walk with him in the rain, counseling with him and reassuring him that everything would be all right. At twenty minutes before zero hour, General Groves left for his station at the base camp, first because it provided a better observation point and second, because of our rule that he and I must not be together in situations where there is an element of danger, which existed at both points.

General Leslie R. Groves (left) and Dr. J. Robert Oppenhiemer Just after General Groves left, announcements began to be broadcast of the interval remaining before the blast. They were sent by radio to the other groups participating in and observing the test. As the time interval grew smaller and changed from minutes to seconds, the tension increased by leaps and bounds. Everyone in that room knew the awful potentialities of the thing that they thought was about to happen. The scientists felt that their figuring must be right and that the bomb had to go off but there was in everyone's mind a strong measure of doubt. The feeling of many could be expressed by ''Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.' We were reaching into the unknown and we did not know what might come of it. It can be safely said that most of those present - Christian, Jew and Atheist - were praying and praying harder than they had ever prayed before. If the shot were successful, it was a justification of the several years of intensive effort of tens of thousands of people statesmen, scientists, engineers, manufacturers, soldiers, and many others in every walk of life.

In that brief instant in the remote New Mexico desert the tremendous effort of the brains and brawn of all these people came suddenly and startlingly to the fullest fruition. Dr. Oppenheimer, on whom had rested a very heavy burden, grew tenser as the last seconds ticked off. He scarce breathed. He held on to a post to steady himself. For the last few seconds, he stared directly ahead and then when the announcer shouted 'Now!' and there came this tremendous burst of light followed shortly thereafter by the deep growling roar of the explosion, his face relaxed into an expression of tremendous relief. Several of the observers standing back of the shelter to watch the lighting effects were knocked flat by the blast.

The tension in the room let up and all started congratulating each other. Everyone sensed 'This is it!' No matter what might happen now all knew that the impossible scientific job had been done. Atomic fission would no longer be hidden in the cloisters of the theoretical The bomb is unloaded at the base of the tower. July 13, 1945 physicists' dreams. It was almost full grown at birth. It was a great new force to be used for good or for evil. There was a feeling in that shelter that those concerned with its nativity should dedicate their lives to the mission that it would always be used for good and never for evil.

Dr. Kistiakowsky, the impulsive Russian, (actually an American and a Harvard professor) threw his arms around Dr. Oppenheimer and embraced him with shouts of glee. Others were equally enthusiastic. All the pent-up emotions were released in those few minutes and all seemed to sense immediately that the explosion had far exceeded the most optimistic expectations and wildest hopes of the scientists. All seemed to feel that they had been present at the birth of a new age - The Age of Atomic Energy - and felt their profound responsibility to help in guiding into right channels the tremendous forces which had been unleashed for the first time in history.

As to the present war, there was a feeling that no matter what else might happen, we now had the means to insure its speedy conclusion and save thousands of American lives."

This is a controversial issue since Israel does not admit or deny nuclear capability. As a result, the views in any direction are guesses and hypotheses. This answer has been organized for clarity into two parts depending on whether they hold that "Yes" Israel does have its weapons pointed at major European cities or "No". There is also a third section for those who deny the existence or possibility of nuclear missiles. The order is used solely for organization and does not indicate which answer is empirically correct.

Part 1: Yes, Europe is Targeted

Answer 1

It is believed that Israel has nuclear warheads pointed not only to European cities but also to Middle East cities. They have targeted everything that could threat Israel. Israel is widely believed to possess weapons of mass destruction, and to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a Nuclear Weapons State by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The US Congress Office of Technology Assessment has recorded Israel as a country generally reported as having undeclared chemical warfare capabilities, and an offensive biological warfare program. Officially Israel neither confirms nor denies possessing nuclear weapons.

It is believed that Israel had possessed an operational nuclear weapons capability by 1967, with the mass production of nuclear warheads occurring immediately after the Six-Day War. Although no official statistics exist, it has been estimated that Israel possesses from 75 to as many as 400 nuclear weapons, which are reported to include thermonuclear weapons in the megaton range. Israel is also reported to possess a wide range of different systems, including neutron bombs, tactical nuclear weapons, and suitcase nukes.

Israel has also the air, surface, and marine nuclear delivery systems. Delivery mechanisms include Jericho intercontinental ballistic missiles, with a range of 11,500 km, and which are believed to provide a second-strike option. Israel's nuclear-capable ballistic missiles are believed to be buried so far underground that they would survive a nuclear attack.

Concerning Part 3's Nuclear Denialism: (1) All information in this answer is from Western information sources without any interference. (2) The economic status is never a factor when the country wants to be nuclear weapon state. Examples are North Korea and Pakistan and formerly South Africa.

For more information refer to links below.

Part 2: No, Europe is Not Targeted

Answer 1

The Israeli government has never confirmed any information about nuclear weapons in their country. There are no credible sources that identify European targets, and any confirmation was made out of assumptions. It is widely accepted that Israel does have nuclear weapons (believed to be the sixth country to have developed them). IF one were to suppose they had missiles trained on a destination, it would certainly be in the Middle East . Attacking Europe is highly unlikely.

Answer 2

It should be observed or noted here that Nuclear weapons are not "pointed" although the media loves to use this term as it occasionally delves into propaganda. These weapons have programmed flight paths for as great a number of possible targets as are deemed plausible. In the event of war, and their activation, a flight plan is selected and, after the proper protocols, they are launched at their target. So really, a missile can be simultaneously pointed at hundreds of cities or strategic points. It's simply a matter of which target is eventually selected depending on the conflict that the country is involved in.

Also, to respond to the person with a misunderstanding of nuclear physics, in Part 3 fission reactions are indeed hard to begin or stop in a controlled manner, however, if you have no interest in controlling the reaction, such as in a bomb, the critical concentration can easily be achieved with compression caused by a chemical explosive. Most people agree we have a fairly complete understanding of how to blow things up whenever we please using those. In regards to the use of fusion in a weapon, the development of fusion bombs came later. In these cases, the fission reaction started via critical compression of the initial fissioning mass releases a burst of energy which begins a hydrogen-tritium fusion process, which releases additional neutrons to feed the fission process. The entire process once started takes only microseconds, and is known as a Fission-Fusion-Fission detonation, and is to the first fission bombs what they were to chemical explosives - as much as a thousand times greater in energy output.

Answer 3

There is no evidence that any European cities are targeted by the Israeli nuclear missile sites. What would be the point? Besides, weapons such as this aren't "pointed". They're given target coordinates via an upload, either by cable or a secure wireless connection. If Israel actually deployed a weapon, it would almost certainly be delivered by plane, not a missile, for a variety of reasons.

Answer 4

While I agree with every other claim put forward by Part 1: Answer 1 above, I do not agree with the claim that Israel has aimed nuclear weapons at European cities. Israel has had a strong alliance with a number of European countries for centuries and it would seem counterintuitive to jeopardize that.

Part 3: Nuclear Missile Denialism

Answer 1

The information in Part 1: Answer 1 above is economic nonsense. Israel simply cannot afford to develop nor retain stocks of nuclear weapons as above. Israel's leaders are sane unlike the madmen running places like North Korea. Nuclear weapons as described there do not work and have never been demonstrated. They are so worthless that Ukraine happily gave them up in exchange for cheap gas from Russia that she could then re-export for profit - a much more lucrative business than storing useless weapons. The only aggressive nuclear devices used were those over Japan in WWII. They were effectively mechanisms set up in airborne scientific laboratories flying over the cities they bombed, delivering complex devices with pre-set timing. Such things cannot be replicated in missiles and bombs etc. The stuff above demonstrates the writer has little understanding of chemistry and physics and he/she lacks the grace to let other answers stand and allow the reader to make up his or her mind. The stuff above is propaganda designed to stir up the Antichrist's (666) allies in preparation for the Campaign of Armageddon. Israel has no intention to use such awful aggressive weapons. She only has weapons to defend herself because that is all she can afford. Most Israelis work 50-60 hour weeks because the economy is under so much pressure to feed and hospitalise 11 million Jews and Arabs.