Opinion: Nuclear war – get in your bunkers!

The dark spectre of nuclear war rears its ugly head from time to time. Since Nagasaki and Hiroshima, at the end of the Second World War, the devastation of nuclear weapons has loomed large. The Cold War saw us living in a veritable nuclear frenzy. Now North Korea’s long range missile tests brings back the threat of a nuclear holocaust.

Not so long ago, during the 70s and 80s, the Cold War saw heightened states of alert in the Soviet Union and ‘the West’. Early warning systems appeared in Scotland and Trident was seen as the first line of defence in the event of a nuclear attack. This aging system has become defunct and Scotland’s role as a defence shield for the west appears to be over. US troops stationed in Scotland, during the 70s and 80s, gradually returned to home turf and left their RAF bases. No longer is a more progressive Russia seen as as a threat to western ideologies, but North Korea has now taken on this mantle.

The self proclaimed, despotic leader, Kim Jong Un has created a regime that has the characteristics of an extreme nation state that flies in the face of western ideologies. Now, North Korea’s missile capability appears to be threatening world peace. Kim Jong Un has proudly tested intercontinental ballistic missiles, demonstrating that his hand of destruction could reach deep into US, Chinese, Japanese and South Korean territories. Although it is unclear if North Korea posses the technology capable of arming these missiles, with nuclear warheads, it is unnerving to say the least.

An article in this week’s Economist – It could happen – points out the apparently volatile nature of the situation in North Korea. The bravado expressed by Kim Jong Un has been met with equally confrontational rhetoric from Donald Trump. Both characters certainly don’t take a diplomatic stance and upping the ante is the name of their game. Trump has voiced his willingness to take on the North Korean leader with the use of nuclear weapons (The Times, August, 2017). Not only this, but Trump tweets his views about foreign policy on a regular basis, leaving onlookers feeling disconcerted.

The anomalous nature of North Korea and the lack of any reliable intelligence about its nuclear capabilities leaves America in the dark. However, this rogue state poses a significant threat. At the moment, Trump is on the offensive, but in reality can he neutralise the threat that North Korea appears to be? Military action of any sort could exacerbate the situation irrevocably and could see China being pushed into a situation that may see it align more strongly with North Korea.

The Economist article highlights the other option which is containment. In this sense, sending a strong message to the North Korean dictator, in the form of sanctions, and bolstering allies in the region could impede any escalation. In reality, a nuclear holocaust is probably not that appealing to Donald Trump or Kim Jong Un. Both figures enjoy the trappings of a lifestyle, so lavished in luxury, that the prospect of hunkering down in a nuclear bunker, for the rest of their lives, must seem quite unappealing. For those of us who can’t afford the protection of a nuclear bunker, let’s hope that our world leaders don’t allow nihilism to take over and vaporise humanity in a few minutes.