There are nuclear weapons stationed in Germany. Specifically, the B61 nuclear bomb. Until recently, it were 20 bombs of the Mod 4, that were to be replaced with the modernized Mod 12, with a ‘yield’ of up to 50 kilotons.
These are U.S. bombs, stationed in several countries in Europe as part of NATO Nuclear Weapons Sharing. In case of use, these bombs are meant to be delivered e.g. by German pilots.
In total, there are about 150 of these B61 bombs stationed in Europe. This is far less crazy than back during the Cold War, when there were more than 7,000 nuclear weapons from the U.S., stationed in Europe. I think that it is still crazy though.
The general notion is one of: “Don’t throw nuclear weapons at us, or else, we will throw nuclear weapons at you.” Eye for an eye, basically, just like thousands of years ago – except now with the firepower to annihilate entire cities within minutes, and to make large swathes of land unhabitable.
I get that premise. And sure, I also wouldn’t want to have to live under the boot of someone, who is like: “Don’t you dare to speak about a man consensually kissing a man in front of children, and tell the children instead how to make the rivers overflow with human blood.”
But at which point, would a nuclear weapon actually be used? In example, when Mr Putin would order an unit near Minsk, to annihilate Berlin with nuclear weapons, would the decision maker in NATO order for Minsk to be annihilated?
And that’s where I have an issue with, for among other my death to be used as justification for killing other civilians. And depending on how even more crazy it gets, such as Mr Hegseth filling the heads of officers with the notion, that only a white planet can stand strong against the radical left aliens from outer space, coming to eat us all – are there really checks and balances, that would prevent NATO from being the ones, who start a nuclear war?
From what I gathered, that seems barely the case. In particular, the German federal parliament asked the government on 26th March 2010, to ask the U.S. to remove their nuclear weapons from Germany. But the government didn’t do that, and the more recent government then even spent billions to prep a new airfield for these weapons.
And I just want to say, that I don’t agree with a concept of: “Only a few know, what is in the interest of the people, and the people ought to accept that.”. Nor do I think that it helps geopolitics, when all the big players are just in it, to win with their team, even over the dead bodies of millions, and no one left, to be rather more of a neutral mediator. As in someone looking at things more objectively and putting some real effort into it, than to just move stacks of money for weapons and instead of looking at everything through a lense of self-interests of the team-members with no regard about how e.g. all of Africa ought to defend itself against nuclear annihiliation, when all of the permanent UN Security Council members are saying that such is possible only with even more nuclear weapons – which doesn’t seem to be a rational approach in regard to this planet of ours, and all of us living on it.