Trump: We need more nukes

[Hindsight was 2020]

"The United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes"-Trump on twitter. God help us https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/811977223326625792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

The best defense is a strong offense?

[Hindsight was 2020]

The best defense is a strong offense?

Defense against what? His foreign policy so far has been to be bffs with Russia

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

BUT HILLARY IS A HAWK

[Sumner 1868]

Looks like he's reassuring the RNC their still the party of Raygun.

[DrScholl]

Is there any doubt that he will launch a nuclear attack at some point? The question isn't if, but when.

[KingSweden]

I'm curious what "comes to its senses on nukes" is supposed to mean.

[Person Man]

I'm curious what "comes to its senses on nukes" is supposed to mean.

Or even "how".

[Santander]

It's better to have them and wish you didn't than the other way around.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

We certainly need new nukes, not more. Our warheads and ICBMs are from the Kennedy era. The computer systems used by our nuclear launch silos use cardboard punch cards. Bill Gates could've built these systems in his garage by the time 1981 rolled around. This needs to be addressed.

[Hermit For Peace]

Nuclear weapons are bad for civilization, bad for the air we breathe, and just plain bad. They are NOT the way of the future.

Trump is dead wrong.

[Person Man]

We could use them to power spaceships to PC and AC...or at least Saturn and Jupiter XD

[dead0man]

We certainly need new nukes, not more. Our warheads and ICBMs are from the Kennedy era. The computer systems used by our nuclear launch silos use cardboard punch cards. Bill Gates could've built these systems in his garage by the time 1981 rolled around. This needs to be addressed.

Not all of that is correct, and the reason any of it is true is long and complicated....but the short of it is....off the shelf computer equipment can't (generally) be used in such systems.  It's got to (generally) be made special for a specific task.  It has to have ridiculous reliability numbers.  It's got to be mobile or hardened (or both).  We have to be 100% sure there are no "back doors" or other security issues.  Yeah, sometimes a Dell laptop will work for a given task, but a lot of times it won't.  We are in the process of upgrading the warheads, but that's long and expensive.  Just like designing a new delivery vehicle.

and besides all that, ICBMs are just one arm of the three arm nuclear triad.  The other two arms (subs and birds) are (generally) more modern and probably the most likely to be used next.  ICBMs are for end of the world, The Day After type wars, the odds of one of those are pretty slim, even with the tangerine nightmare as POTUS.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Please No

[Person Man]

We certainly need new nukes, not more. Our warheads and ICBMs are from the Kennedy era. The computer systems used by our nuclear launch silos use cardboard punch cards. Bill Gates could've built these systems in his garage by the time 1981 rolled around. This needs to be addressed.

Not all of that is correct, and the reason any of it is true is long and complicated....but the short of it is....off the shelf computer equipment can't (generally) be used in such systems.  It's got to (generally) be made special for a specific task.  It has to have ridiculous reliability numbers.  It's got to be mobile or hardened (or both).  We have to be 100% sure there are no "back doors" or other security issues.  Yeah, sometimes a Dell laptop will work for a given task, but a lot of times it won't.  We are in the process of upgrading the warheads, but that's long and expensive.  Just like designing a new delivery vehicle.

and besides all that, ICBMs are just one arm of the three arm nuclear triad.  The other two arms (subs and birds) are (generally) more modern and probably the most likely to be used next.  ICBMs are for end of the world, The Day After type wars, the odds of one of those are pretty slim, even with the tangerine nightmare as POTUS.

Yeah. It is hard to imagine ICBMs being used, but I can see a B-2, a drone, or an LA class sub reaching its mark in the next 4-8 years. Aren't public policy and military officers talking about using tactical nukes as a way to force things back to the table?

[Xing]

How does this not make everyone uncomfortable?

[Confused Democrat]

How does this not make everyone uncomfortable?

I keep telling myself "he's not President yet."

These statements will start feeling real when he actually takes office.

[President Johnson]

I say we need more brains.

Peace through strength is the right doctrine, but more nukes than we already have are unnecessary and expensive. The military budget is already too high. We need strong defense forces, but the current budget is out of control. Most conflicts of the 21st century aren't/won't be militarily, but economically and in the digital world (cyber and info wars).

[Devout Centrist]

The posters here who said, "boy I'm sure glad Hillary lost, now we won't go to war with Russia," are awfully quiet now.

[justfollowingtheelections]

Trump needs to go.  Now.

[Hermit For Peace]

I say we need more brains.

Peace through strength is the right doctrine, but more nukes than we already have are unnecessary and expensive. The military budget is already too high. We need strong defense forces, but the current budget is out of control. Most conflicts of the 21st century aren't/won't be militarily, but economically and in the digital world (cyber and info wars).

Great insight.

[Phony Moderate]

We've always known that Trump is more or less a member of the Realist school (without actually realising it) and this statement is very much a Realist one.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/donald-trump-should-embrace-realist-foreign-policy-18502

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Is there any doubt that he will launch a nuclear attack at some point? The question isn't if, but when.

I'm hopeful that he will be stopped first. But the only reason he won't try is if he's out of office for other reasons before he can get around to it.

[dead0man]

We certainly need new nukes, not more. Our warheads and ICBMs are from the Kennedy era. The computer systems used by our nuclear launch silos use cardboard punch cards. Bill Gates could've built these systems in his garage by the time 1981 rolled around. This needs to be addressed.

Not all of that is correct, and the reason any of it is true is long and complicated....but the short of it is....off the shelf computer equipment can't (generally) be used in such systems.  It's got to (generally) be made special for a specific task.  It has to have ridiculous reliability numbers.  It's got to be mobile or hardened (or both).  We have to be 100% sure there are no "back doors" or other security issues.  Yeah, sometimes a Dell laptop will work for a given task, but a lot of times it won't.  We are in the process of upgrading the warheads, but that's long and expensive.  Just like designing a new delivery vehicle.

and besides all that, ICBMs are just one arm of the three arm nuclear triad.  The other two arms (subs and birds) are (generally) more modern and probably the most likely to be used next.  ICBMs are for end of the world, The Day After type wars, the odds of one of those are pretty slim, even with the tangerine nightmare as POTUS.

Yeah. It is hard to imagine ICBMs being used, but I can see a B-2, a drone, or an LA class sub reaching its mark in the next 4-8 years. Aren't public policy and military officers talking about using tactical nukes as a way to force things back to the table?

I don't know what you mean by "force things back to the table", tactical nukes CAN (and probably will, eventually) be used in war without:
A.starting WWIII
2.causing permanent hardcore environmental damage
III.harming all that many (if any) civilians

Nukes have a horrible PR department though  and are, rightfully, very scary things.  Of course they should be used only in extreme circumstances and with extreme care, but that's true for a drone, a main battle tank or rifle too.

That said, the DoD will not nuke Caracas 'cause Maduro called the Orange Ape a name.

[pbrower2a]

It's all about the profits of arms merchants.