5 minutes to midnight

In 1947, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists first unveiled its Doomsday Clock and set it at seven minutes to midnight. In 1953 it moved forward to two minutes to midnight, in 1991 it moved back to 17 minutes to midnight. What will happen when the clock strikes midnight? The world will experience nuclear Armageddon and may very well be destroyed in the process.

The closest the world got to Doomsday was in 1953, the furthest it got away from it was in 1991 when the U.S. and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). On January 17, the Bulletin moved the clock's hand forward again by two minutes, from seven to five minutes to midnight. Once again the world is becoming a more dangerous place.

During the Cold War, Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) kept the U.S. and the Soviet Union from using their nuclear arsenal. But they still keep 2,000 warheads ready for launch within minutes. And the number of nuclear powers is rising: Pakistan, India and North Korea joined the club. There is no MAD anymore today and the war may turn hot.

Civil nuclear power is becoming fashionable again. In the past two or three decades many opposed the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity. Accidents could happen, as Chernobyl showed, and leaving future generations with nuclear waste was considered 'not done'. But global warning requires that the use of fossil fuels is scaled back and 'clean' nuclear power is making a comeback. Global warming, biological experiments and advances in nanotechnology may also bring doomsday nearer. Imagine a destructive missile the size of an insect...

One problem is that if you are capable of producing nuclear energy, you are also clever enough to make the bomb. Sometimes it is not clear which is which. Iran says it is pursuing the peaceful use of the atom, U.S. and Israeli Ziocons say it is preparing to acquire nuclear weapons. The Ziocons themselves are actively preparing to use nuclear weapons to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Let's turn the clock back by exposing the warmongers.