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Yet, by far the most surprising development is Britain’s announced intention to increase its stockpile of nuclear warheads from 180 to 260, an unprecedented boost of around 40 per cent in the country’s total nuclear arsenal. And, just as significantly, the British government has now removed its self-imposed cap on the number of nuclear warheads that are deemed “operational” and can therefore be fired at any given time.

IRAN, RUSSIA DENOUNCE UK PLAN TO BOOST NUCLEAR ARSENAL
~ Channel News Asia, March 2021

Iran and Russia on Wednesday denounced the UK’s decision to bolster its nuclear arsenal, with the Islamic republic accusing it of “hypocrisy” and the Kremlin warning the move threatens international stability.

“In utter hypocrisy, the British Prime Minister) is concerned about Iran developing a viable nuclear weapon,” Iran’s Foreign Minister tweeted. “On the very same day he announces his country will increase its stockpile of nukes. Unlike the UK and allies, Iran believes nukes and all WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) are barbaric & must be eradicated.”

“We are very sorry that the UK has chosen this path of increasing nuclear warheads. This decision harms international stability and strategic security,” a Kremlin spokesman said. “The presence of nuclear warheads is what threatens peace throughout the world.”

IRAN HAS BUILT NEW BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCH POSITIONS
~ Fox News, March 2021

Satellite images reveal 4 holes dug into mountainside

The Iranian Khorgo underground ballistic missile site is almost operational after new launching positions were constructed, satellite images obtained by Fox News reveal.

Construction on the ballistic missile site resulted in recent months as the Iranians ramp up work on the launching positions that can rapidly deploy two ballistic missiles each. The Iranian site sits approximately 500 miles from Kuwait, a country that houses more than 13,000 American troops, and less than 200 miles from the United Arab Emirates, a key U.S. partner.

WOULD ISRAEL DARE ATTACK IRAN’S NUCLEAR FACILITIES?
~ National Interest, April 2021

There’s once again talk that Israel might make a move to attack Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

There has been frequent speculation over the last two decades that Israel could launch such an attack on Iran, but while Israel is believed to have undergone various efforts to sabotage Iran’s nuclear capability, they have not yet launched a full-on first strike.

The Brookings Institution notes that it would make sense for Israel to strike Iran “sooner rather than later.” The question is how Iran would respond to such a strike. Would it order Hezbollah and other proxies to attack Israel? Attack Israel with ballistic missiles? Launch a full-on war in response?

RUSSIA TO BOOST TIES WITH PAKISTAN, SUPPLY MILITARY GEAR
~ ABC News, April 2021

The two nations will boost military ties.

Russia’s foreign minister said Moscow and Islamabad will boost ties with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and the two holding joint exercises at sea and in the mountains.

Pakistan wants regional cooperation, though he did not mention Pakistan’s uneasy relationship with neighbor India.

The accord underlines the waning influence of the United States in the region, while Russian and Chinese clout grows.

“There’s a good reason why this is the first Russian foreign minister visit to Islamabad for nearly a decade: Russia-Pakistan relations are on the ascent,” a Russian spokesman said in an interview. He also noted a new 25-year development military agreement between Iran and China.

KIM JONG UN’s POWERFUL SISTER SENDS WARNING TO BIDEN
~ CNBC, March 2021

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, sent an eerie message to the United States.

“We take this opportunity to warn the new U.S. administration trying hard to give off [gun] powder smell in our land,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement referencing joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises in the region.

“If it [the U.S.] wants to sleep in peace for the coming four years, it had better refrain from causing a stink at its first step,” she added, according to an English translation.

The Trump administration made some initial progress with North Korea, but the negotiations broke down more than a year ago after the U.S. refused to grant sanctions relief in exchange for Pyongyang’s dismantling of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

The Biden administration has tried unsuccessfully to restart nuke talks with North Korea.

Under third-generation North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the reclusive state has conducted its most powerful nuclear test recently, launching its first-ever intercontinental ballistic missile and threatening to send missiles into the waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.

EPIGRAPH

“Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped by a disaster such as sudden global nuclear war…”

~ Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist

There are two problems with our species’ survival—nuclear war and environmental catastrophe, and we’re hurtling towards them. Knowingly.

~ Noam Chomsky, cognitive scientist

The leaders of the world face no greater task than that of avoiding nuclear war.

~ Robert F. Kennedy, American politician

Nothing conceived by the human mind except Heaven and nuclear winter is eternal.

~ Jeffrey Zeldman, American entrepreneur

I think I can, I think I can.

~ The Little Engine that Could

PROLOGUE

Wednesday, October 30

Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center

Northern Virginia

Despite the dire circumstances America faced and the unusual conditions under which her government operated, the media from around the world continued to clamor for information. The nuclear detonations had succeeded in collapsing the power grid and associated critical infrastructure across most of America. Nonetheless, information was still being disseminated to her citizens via shortwave radio, satellite television broadcasts, and word of mouth.

President Carter Helton’s psychological condition had deteriorated in the initial period following the attacks. Over several days, with the assistance of the White House physician and his close friend Chief of Staff Harrison Chandler, he’d gradually regained control. For the first time since the nuclear warhead struck Washington, DC, he was going to address the nation and then take questions from the media.

His address was going to be like no other in American history. It would rank alongside George Washington’s Farewell Address in 1796 and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address of 1863. Its tone and tenor were completely opposite of other national addresses like John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address of 1961 in which he said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Nor did President Helton call out the enemy like FDR did in his war message to Congress in 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor.