I was with the US Air Force in October of 1973, when Richard Nixon did the unthinkable. Supposedly in an attempt to deflect attention from his Watergate troubles, the entire US Military was put on high alert, including the Strategic Air Command.
As a member of Weapons Systems Security, I was assigned to guard the entrance to the Base Command Center. When the Base Commander came rushing into Command Post, I had the opportunity to ask him if this was "the real thing." He told me, in no uncertain terms, that is most definitely was.
The sight of nuclear-loaded B-52's starting up their engines is something that I will never, ever forget. The idea of my family, hometown, and entire state being vaporized at any minute was not a pleasant experience. Having to come to grips with the impending end of the world was, quite frankly, horrifying.
I had allowed myself to believe over the last several years that we had stepped away from the stupidity of the Cold War era, and the concepts of Mutually Assured Destruction. The fact that Dubya has been wagging a missle system in the face of Putin and Co. has not been lost on me, but I have been confident that he couldn't do much harm in the little time he has left. Not a problem, right?
And then Hillary Clinton dipped into the Curtis B. LeMay School of Diplomacy handbook:
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president,
we will attack Iran," Clinton said. "In the next 10
years, during which they might foolishly consider launching
an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally
obliterate them."
"Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, said that the U.S. "should
be looking to create an umbrella of deterrence that goes
much further than just Israel. Of course I would make it clear
to the Iranians that an attack on Israel would incur
massive retaliation from the United States
but I would do the same with other countries in the region."
How can we even joke about electing this 60's Republican throwback??
Lest we forget...
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