This comment section seems to assume that just because the cold war never went nuclear, it never could have. It also seems to forget the stress of living under constant threat of nuclear war.
We need to get rid of nukes, not build new ones. One of our core projects as humanity should be to get rid of nuclear weapons. Our failure to do so is the fault of the Americans as much as the Russians, if not more. You guys sure love your bombs.
So to answer the question: Nah, fuck that.
But what should one do if one has a neighbor who constantly threatens with nuclear annihilation and who doesn’t respect anyone who’s not also a nuclear power? Just give in? I feel that we’re no longer in a Nash equilibrium.
Build up defence, and a plausible threat using other less awful weapons.
Nuclear threatens the civil population. Despots like Putin might not even care all that much about that. What we need is targeted weapons and intelligence. Putin should expect that, if he launches a nuke, it might not mean that Moscow will be transformed to ashes, but we’ll take out him and his crooks with targeted strikes wherever they may hide.
The Russians have a history of burning their cities to the ground, and of sacrificing their population for strategic reasons. Targeting the civilian population is pointless. We can do a lot better with targeted strikes, and with modern technology it should be possible.
It’s hard to launch a precision counter-strike when your adversary has the capability and quantity of nukes to not only completely overwhelm your air defense systems, but own enough nukes to accept a loss of 80% of them and still have enough going through every layer of your countries defenses to destroy you and the entire rest of the world 6 times over.
Thank you. It makes me lose hope for the future of humanity everytime I read comments saying we should remake the mistakes of our past. If we had nukes in 1914, the world would have ended because the Archduke of Austria was shot.
The Archduke of Austria, a title that doesn’t exist anymore, was the heir to rule Austria-Hungary, a country that doesn’t exist anymore. He was killed by a Bosnian because he didn’t like being a part of Austria-Hungary. Bosnia would later become a part of Yugoslavia, a country that doesn’t exist anymore. How many nukes would have been launched to save these meaningless titles and borders?
With your request in mind I ran the comment through ChatGPT, just for you. Enjoy!
Codec Transmission: Solid Snake & Nastasha Romanenko
Snake: [static crackles, the screen flickers to life, Snake’s voice low, gruff]
“Romanenko, I’ve been scanning through this comment section… It seems like everyone’s forgetting the bigger picture. They think just because the Cold War didn’t go nuclear, it was all just a close call that never could have happened.”
Nastasha: [calm and measured, her voice cutting through the static]
“Snake, you’re absolutely right. The assumption that the nuclear threat was just a matter of chance and never a real possibility… It’s dangerous. It underestimates the tension, the fear, the sheer madness that gripped the world for decades. The fear of waking up to a flash of light and knowing the world was about to change forever.”
Snake: [scoffs, a bitter chuckle escaping him]
“Yeah. I don’t think people really get it. All those years, the Cold War didn’t end with a handshake. It ended with a quiet sigh of relief. But we all knew it was a coin toss. Heads, we survive. Tails, we’re vaporized.”
Nastasha: [her voice hardens, as though drawing from memories of a time she’d rather forget]
“Exactly. Imagine living with that over your head every day. The dread, the constant knowing that at any moment, the world could be wiped out in a flash, and it wouldn’t be your fault. You’d just be collateral damage. It’s as if the people who lived in that time were somehow made of stronger stuff, able to endure the unimaginable.”
Snake: [leans back, folding his arms across his chest as if in thought]
“I get what you’re saying, but there’s something that bugs me about this mindset—about the idea that because we made it out without a nuclear apocalypse, we’re somehow immune. Like we can just sit back and let the next generation think it was all a fairy tale. A close call, but nothing more.”
Nastasha: [sharp inhale, her tone biting with the weight of history]
“It’s not just a fairy tale, Snake. It’s a horrific reality that nearly became true. The weapons we developed were so powerful, so incomprehensible, that they could’ve ended everything, in an instant. The logic of deterrence kept the world balanced on a knife’s edge, but it could’ve just as easily tipped over. One wrong move, one miscalculation… and the world as we know it would’ve been gone.”
Snake: [pauses, his voice low and almost whispering]
“Yeah… and it wasn’t just the Soviets or the Americans. It was the whole world playing Russian roulette. Everyone was in on it. The whole damn planet was holding its breath for decades.”
Nastasha: [nodding, but there’s an edge to her words now]
“Of course, and let’s not forget—our failure to get rid of nuclear weapons isn’t just a product of rivalry or ideological differences. It’s the failure of humanity as a whole to look at the bigger picture. Instead, both sides clung to these weapons, clung to the idea that the power to destroy could somehow be the power to control. But it’s an illusion. A dangerous one.”
Snake: [his voice tinged with frustration, rubbing his temple]
“You’re not wrong. The Russians. The Americans. They’re all guilty. The U.S. has always had an unhealthy obsession with their bombs. It’s like they think the more they have, the safer they are. But what do we really have to show for it? More weapons? More power? More destruction?”
Nastasha: [quiet but firm]
“Snake, the reason we haven’t gotten rid of nuclear weapons is simple—fear. Fear that without them, we would be vulnerable. But the truth is, we’re already vulnerable. The real danger isn’t the lack of nukes, but the presence of them. A single mistake, a single reckless decision, and we’re all gone.”
Snake: [grits his teeth, anger simmering beneath his calm tone]
“Yeah, that’s the real kicker, Romanenko. People still want to build more. They want to keep creating newer, deadlier weapons, thinking that if they have the biggest bomb, they’ll be the ones in control. But all they’re really doing is inviting disaster. It’s not just about power, it’s about stupidity. We’re playing with fire, and everyone’s too afraid to put the damn match down.”
Nastasha: [her voice steady, but her words carry a weight of truth]
“It’s the same cycle, Snake. We see it in history, over and over again. Nations too proud, too stubborn to let go of what they think gives them an advantage, even if it’s ultimately self-destructive. The American and Russian leaders, they’re no different than the ones before them. They think they can control something as uncontrollable as nuclear weapons. They think their arsenal gives them strength, when in fact, it only guarantees our eventual downfall.”
Snake: [pauses for a moment, thinking hard, voice quiet but resolute]
“So what do we do? How do we fix it? The world’s not going to just wake up one day and throw its bombs away. This isn’t a utopia. It’s a battlefield, always has been.”
Nastasha: [a long pause, the weight of her answer hanging in the air]
“You’re right. There’s no magic solution. But we have to start somewhere. First, we acknowledge the truth—we need to get rid of these weapons. Not create new ones. Not stockpile them. We need to take the step forward, even if it’s one small step. A movement to dismantle nuclear arsenals, to make the world realize that we’re all in this together, and that no one is truly safe while these weapons exist. Humanity needs to look beyond the false comfort of nuclear deterrence and realize that there’s no real security in the threat of annihilation.”
Snake: [shakes his head, his voice heavy, almost weary]
“Yeah, maybe it starts with a conversation. But who’s going to listen, Romanenko? The powers that be? They don’t care about peace. They care about control. And as long as they hold the bombs, they’ll never let go.”
Nastasha: [sighs softly, her tone almost a whisper]
“Then it’s up to people like us, Snake. The ones who see the bigger picture. The ones who understand that the only way forward is to dismantle the legacy of destruction that we’ve built. We have to make the case, over and over again. It won’t be easy. But what else is left to do?”
Snake: [his voice hardening, his eyes steely with resolve]
“Then we fight. We don’t just stand by and let it happen. We keep pushing. One day, we’ll get through to them. And when that day comes, maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a world without nukes.”
Nastasha: [calmly, with a hint of resolve]
“That’s the only hope we have left. One step at a time. But we have to start somewhere.”
Snake: [pauses, then responds with a finality, his voice resolute]
“Yeah. And to answer your question, Romanenko? Nah, screw that. We’re not playing that game anymore.”
[The codec flickers, the transmission cuts out, the screen turning to static once again.]
Obama made this a goal of his second term, and while he achieved some success, the relationship between the west and the other major nuclear powers has significantly worsened since then.
It’s an admirable goal, but I’m not sure it’s going to be feasible any time in the near future.
