I’ve Just Been Told That Nuclear War Would Be Merciful
Compared to what? Life?
It was an argument. A debate with someone who sincerely believed that escalating the war with Russia is a necessary evil to finally end the threat that he felt Russia was to the world. He believed that enduring a nuclear war would be preferable to Putin’s victory if he were to blackmail the earth to accede to his demands.
He insisted that Ukraine has agency. If so, Ukraine has so far refused to negotiate peace with Russia and will not do so until Russia leaves Ukraine. Ukraine has the luxury of refusing to negotiate peace with Russia. Why?
Because Ukraine has received enough foreign aid to sustain itself through a war that could possibly turn into a nuclear war. That’s agency. Everything we’re sending to Ukraine only delays a peace deal. And every day that passes is one day closer to a nuclear war.
I know they’re out there, those people say that a nuclear war is unlikely. Maybe that’s because they haven’t read the latest Nuclear Posture Review. I haven’t read it, either. But the Union of Concerned Scientists have read it, and they say it’s scary AF. Here’s a smattering of what they thought about the potential for Armageddon on October 27th:
This NPR does not reflect the sensible steps President Biden proposed as…
