nuclear. Institutional Italy is silent, but in Ghedi and Aviano they are stored 70 US nuclear warheads. And brand new ones are about to arrive
Manlio Dinucci
Dead silence in the Italian institutional arch, always talkative about the pope, on the words spoken by Francesco il 24 novembre a Hiroshima e a Nagasaki: "The use of atomic energy for war purposes is, Today more than ever, a crime. Possession of atomic weapons is immoral ".
Embarrassing words for our top institutional exponents that, like the previous ones, are responsible for the fact that Italy, non-nuclear country, instead host and be prepared to use US nuclear weapons, violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty to which it adhered, which prohibits militarily non-nuclear states from receiving and controlling nuclear weapons directly or indirectly. Even more serious responsibility because Italy, as a NATO member, refused to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons voted by a large majority by the UN General Assembly: which commits the signatory states not to produce or possess atomic bombs, not to use them or to threaten to use them, not to transfer or receive them directly or indirectly, with the aim of their total elimination.
EMBARRASSING for the rulers the question that Pope Francis asks from Hiroshima: “How can we talk about peace while building new and formidable weapons of war?». In Italy the currently estimated nuclear bombs are about 70, all of the B61 model, but the new and more deadly US B61-12 nuclear bombs are about to be deployed on Italian territory ( in numbers still unknown) in place of the current B-61s. The B61-12 has a nuclear warhead with four selectable power options: at launch, the power of the explosion is chosen depending on the target to hit. Unlike the B61 dropped vertically on the lens, the B61-12 is launched remotely and guided by a satellite system. It also has the ability to penetrate underground, even through reinforced concrete, exploding deep to destroy command center bunkers and underground structures, so as to "behead" the enemy country in a nuclear first strike.
SAME TO YOU embarrassing is the pope's other question: "How can we propose peace if we continually use nuclear warfare intimidation as a legitimate remedy for conflict resolution?». Italy, as a member of NATO, endorsed Trump's decision to cancel the INF treaty, signed in 1987 by Presidents Gorbachev and Reagan, it had made it possible to eliminate all ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles deployed in Europe, including those installed in Comiso. The US develops new ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles, both cruise and ballistic (these capable of hitting targets within minutes of launch), to be deployed in Europe, certainly also in Italy, against Russia and in Asia against China. Russia warned that, if they are deployed in Europe, will aim its nuclear missiles on the territories where they will be installed.
THE POWER nuclear power plants possess altogether approx 15.000 nuclear warheads. Beyond the 90% ri belongs to the United States and Russia: each of the two countries has about 7 thousand. The other countries in possession of nuclear warheads are France (300), China (270), Great Britain (215), Pakistan (120-130), India (110-120), Israel (80), North Korea (10-20). Five other countries - Italy, Germany Belgium, Netherlands and Turkey - together they have approx 150 US nuclear warheads deployed on its territory. However, the arms race is now taking place not on quantity but on quality: that is, on the type of launch platforms and on the offensive capabilities of nuclear warheads.
THE POWER nuclear power plants possess altogether approx 15.000 nuclear warheads. Beyond the 90% ri belongs to the United States and Russia: each of the two countries has about 7 thousand. The other countries in possession of nuclear warheads are France (300), China (270), Great Britain (215), Pakistan (120-130), India (110-120), Israel (80), North Korea (10-20). Five other countries - Italy, Germany Belgium, Netherlands and Turkey - together have approx 150 US nuclear warheads deployed on its territory. The arms race, however, takes place not on quantity but, increasingly, on the quality of nuclear weapons: namely the type of launch platforms and the offensive capabilities of nuclear warheads.
An Ohio-class US submarine is capable of launching, in less than a minute, 24 Trident ballistic missiles armed with 120-190 nuclear warheads, whose explosive power is more than double that of all non-nuclear explosives used in World War II. The new Russian ICBM Sarmat, with radius up to 18.000 km, is capable of carrying 10-16 nuclear warheads that, re-entering the atmosphere at hypersonic speed (beyond 5 times that of sound), maneuver to escape interceptor missiles.
AND WHEN Pope Francis affirms that the use of nuclear energy for war purposes is "a crime not only against man and his dignity, but against any possibility of a future in our common home ", that endangers the future of the Earth, here those who are committed to defending the environment should not be silent: because the greatest threat to the life environment on the planet is nuclear war, and the objective of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons is a priority.
And when Pope Francis states that the use of nuclear energy for war purposes is "a crime not only against man and his dignity, but against any possibility of a future in our common home ", that is a crime that endangers the future of planet Earth where life could be extinguished following a nuclear war, even those who talk about environmental protection remain mute. They are silent on the fact that the greatest threat to the life environment on the planet is nuclear war, and that the objective of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons is therefore a priority.
It remains to be seen to what extent the warning launched by Pope Francis from Hiroshima is received in the Church itself and among Catholics in general. It is not the first time that he has issued such a warning but his voice, to use a phrase from the Gospel, resembles that of "one crying in the desert". At this point a secular proposal comes spontaneously: if there is no conscience, at least awaken the survival instinct.
(the poster, 26 November 2019)