July 16, 1945 5:29 a.m. “The Gadget” Detonates… https://fas.org/blogs/security/2020/07/75-years-ago-the-trinity-nuclear-test/ On the 75th Anniversary of the ‘Trinity Test’ ♠
Category: Calculus of War
Theocratic Politics, Physics of War
That the current state of political debate in the U.S. has descended into what can be described as chaos, anger and blame game doesn’t bring much in the way of hope for ‘better days ahead’. Today, the horizon delivers clear and present dangers, multiplied. Theocratic politics ushers in a new physics of conflict
Back to the Brink, Nuclear Catastrophe
As nuclear treaty after nuclear treaty bites the dust, today, February 1st, 2019, the U.S. announces its intent to withdraw from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty. Nuclear arms control is immeasurably damaged. A new nuclear arms race is heralded, a global breakout characterized by many as “insanity”.
On a November Day
As the U.S. energy policy continues to focus on fossil fuels, we at Strategic Demands take a look at the data and consider crude oil proved reserves. It is an appropriate moment to consider the longer term, e.g., the longevity of the U.S. fracking upsurge… and consequences
The US Way of War
With a nod to the publishing team at TomDispatch, this week StratDem takes another look at a subject rarely visited as blood and treasure are drawn and a nation’s health and resources are taxed beyond reason. Echoes of a “delicious” chocolate cake and an infamous line delivered at the Mar-a-Lago “club”. We’ve launched an attack […]
‘Satan’ Sarmat
Via RT — Russia has unveiled the first image of its new thermonuclear missile system, RS-28 Sarmat, nicknamed “Satan-2” by NATO. The MIRV’d Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, designed to be fitted with hypersonic warheads, are expected to go into production as early as 2018. Tags: Calculus of War; Cold War 2.0; Nuclear Proliferation; Hypersonic Arms Race
Next-Gen Nuclear Weapons Stand Off
Since Strategic Demands inception, we have been focusing on national and global environmental security issues. Nuclear proliferation is among our first-tier concerns and a next generation of nukes will soon make their in-theater presence known with ‘smart’, deployed B61-12 weapons and newly configured F-35 platforms. Ready, set, go
The Edge
Today’s Munich Security Conference has Europe on edge – as it should be. The name of the Ukraine derives from Ukraina (оукраина) the “borderland”, from the Proto-Slavic krajь, meaning the “edge”, and the internal war in Ukraine threatens to become the edge of a wider war – a Cold War 2.0
Calculus of War – Airstrikes and Recruitment
The consequences of tactical warfare rarely (if ever) take into account the “blowback”, the mid- and long-term consequences of war. Preponderance of power can deliver shock and awe, devastation, body counts — but collateral damage, the struggle for hearts and minds, the wages of political war are not considered as the drums of war beat […]
