Who Likes Bombs?

Remember the good ol’ days of the Cold War? You know the 40 year ideological conflict between the United States and the debunked USSR. I consider myself a historian as well as a political scientist (I have degrees in both fields) and one thing that almost any person with a background in history will tell you is that history tends to repeat itself. Being an avid subscriber to this theory and with thousands of years of evidence to support it, I fear as if we may find ourselves again in the midst of a Cold War.

Yesterday the Russians successfully (in their words) tested the “dad of all bombs.” Excuse the peculiar name of the device, but it appears as if it is the real deal. In essence, the Russian bomb is a counter to the U.S. made device termed the “mother of all bombs.” The Russians claim their bomb is four times more powerful than its American cousin and the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in history. Both devices are vacuum bombs, which act like a nuclear bomb in the sense that they consume massive amounts of oxygen to detonate and then push that oxygen back out with incredible force.

Does this new found bomb have any implication for renewed tensions between Moscow and Washington? Relations are strained between both President Bush and President Putin, some even calling their relationship “cold.” Bush like the rest of the world is concerned that Putin is reasserting the old “hard line” in Russia, i.e. taking countless steps away from democratization. To say that Russia is still in shambles is an understatement, but one needs to realize that they have the world’s largest oil reserves. I don’t believe anything imminent to be at hand; look towards the future for dicey relations to reassert themselves.

If the Third World War were to erupt between the U.S. and Russia in the future, I would not be concerned about “the dad of all bombs” or the “mother of all bombs.” Granted, each pack around 8 tons of TNT and are formidable, but both nations still have around 20,000 nuclear warheads sitting around. Nuclear weapons are still by far the most horrific means of killing people (and the planet for that matter) ever constructed. Even though the Cold War is over and world tensions are a shadow of what they use to be, it doesn’t mean the plutonium with its 29,000 year half life disappeared when the USSR collapsed, nor did human nature suddenly change.

We Shall Never Forget

It seems as if six years has been an eternity and for some, six years has indeed been an eternity. Yesterday the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon came and passed without incident. The Great Depression defined what we now refer to as the “greatest generation;” Vietnam defined the baby boomer generation; 9/11 has and will undoubtedly define my generation (usually considered to be generation x and generation y). Moments of hardship and despair forever brand us in this country, usually at the expense of those with the greatest potential.

That is what differentiates my generation from those of the past; those lost on September 11, 2001 were selected by fate if not just being at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was not the decision of a president that led to over 2800 lives being lost that day; it was the decision of those who despise what this great nation, this great melting pot stands for. The last six years have been the most tumultuous in the United States since the end of the Cold War. It seems as if the idea of hardship is what has defined every nation-state to have ever existed on this planet. Maybe that is a theory that need be explored.

Six years is not near enough time to even begin the healing process; I’m not sure if those who experienced and went through Vietnam have forgotten the sheer turmoil of the era. The mantra for 9/11 has been “we shall never forget.” I concur, as I will never forget the images that flooded through the television that day. Those that experienced first hand will never forget the sights and sounds of terror. It is my hope that the next generation, our children will never have to know the horror of a 9/11. But like most things in this world, it is never a guarantee that the worse will not happen.