Google Gemini was used to research this piece. This Essay was posted on 7/1/2025.
Ever since the US unleashed the nuclear bomb into the world, we have continued to inch closer to a nuclear catastrophe, and understanding just how close we got in the 20th century will give us a better appreciation of the nuclear cloud surrounding us today.
The most noteworthy time in the 20th century was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The US and the USSR came very close to nuclear war before cooler heads prevailed. A Soviet submarine was threatened by US forces to the point that they almost launched a nuclear attack against the US. A Soviet submarine Officer refused to respond and likely avoided a major war. And there were consequences. Nikita Kruschev was removed two years later in part over his handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis. And the US sealed the deal by quietly pulling missiles out of Turkey.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was not alone. Two incidents in 1983 came close to a nuclear catastrophe. In one, a NATO exercise was realistic enough to put the Soviets on high alert until tensions calmed down. The other incident involved a Soviet Lieutenant Colonel working at an early warning center. Warnings of a nuclear attack appeared on the radar screens, but the Colonel chose to wait. Fortunately, the warnings were false flags.
Anything can happen when there is tension between nuclear nations, and there is clearly tension in the world today. Russia is being challenged by Ukraine that is getting NATO support. China wants to control Taiwan. The Middle East is a powder keg. And relations between Pakistan and India are worse than usual. If countries let their self-interests rule and neglect the concept of maintaining the deterrent provided by mutually assured destruction, then we may forget the lessons of the 20th Century.
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