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[Lemurnator]

http://www.mosnews.com/feature/2004/05/21/petrov.shtml

Sirens blaring, warning lights flashing, computer screens showing nuclear missiles on their way, one man in charge of a red button labeled “START” - that’s start a retaliatory strike — and a roomful of people at their terminals and switchboards waiting for him to push it.

Stanislav Petrov was a Soviet army officer monitoring the satellite system for signs of a U.S. attack, the year was 1983, and his instructions, if he detected missiles targeting the Soviet Union, were to push the button and launch a counter-offensive. He didn't.

This is kind of old, but it really makes you think how close we've come to ending ourselves.

 

[Diablos]

Damn, our lives could have been over or seriously altered because of this. Kudos to this guy for stopping a nuclear war...

 

[Lemurnator]

Cracker can save the world, and still not get any respect.

 

[LakeEarth]

Stanislav Petrov... I'll try to remember that name...

 

[capslock]

Wow, that's a great read, thanks for posting that.

 

[FnordChan]

Thank god Petrov made the right decision. Jesus.

In a similar vein, two film recommendations. First off, Miracle Mile, an extrordinarily tense thriller about a man who receives a misdialed phone call from an American missle silo warning that nuclear war is iminent. Or is it? Cue 70 minutes of real-time panic and steadily escalating paranoia. Also, for anyone who missed it, the documentary The Fog of War is phenomenal, with Robert McNamara defending his role in strategic bombing during WWII, increasing American involvement in Vietnam, and particularly the Cuban Missle Crisis. It's all fascinating, but the missle crisis bits are the most frigtening, as McNamara explains just how horribly, painfully close we were to World War 3. Crucial viewing.

FnordChan

 

[Bregor]

I've always thought that one of the main reasons we did survive the Cold War was that we were fortunate enough to have fundamentally rational people in charge on both sides. Unlike fanatics who might not have cared about the lives involved, nobody truly wanted to see millions on either side die.

 

[ManDudeChild]

I've always thought that one of the main reasons we did survive the Cold War was that we were fortunate enough to have fundamentally rational people in charge on both sides. Unlike fanatics who might not have cared about the lives involved, nobody truly wanted to see millions on either side die.

I think a more likely reason is M.A.D.

 

[Bregor]

I think a more likely reason is M.A.D.

While that is important, I don't think it is sufficient by itself to explain how well things turned out.

 

[Zaptruder]

I think a more likely reason is M.A.D.

Well yeah... but not everyone obeys the idea of MAD... if you have some nutjob in there, he'll push the button and wipe both sides out, gladly.

 

[ManDudeChild]

Well yeah... but not everyone obeys the idea of MAD... if you have some nutjob in there, he'll push the button and wipe both sides out, gladly.

Hm. I can agree with that to an extent. I guess both played a large role in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Sathsquatch]

Actually, I am pretty sure that MAD was not effective for a good part of the cold war. The Americans had the bomb well before the Russians, which would have let them win a war against the soviets during this time. Before the invention of IBCM's, the US could have defeated Russia in a nuclear war if they struck first because their superior aircraft could bomb the russians and shoot down enemy bombers. The Russians were able to launch rockets into space before the Americans, which gave them the the advantage if they struck before the Americans.

MAD did not come into play until both sides developed IBCMs, superhardened missile silos, and nuclear submarines so that they could both strike back even after absorbing a full nuclear strike.

With that in mind, I think that the level headed thinking of a few people prevented World War III. Neither side ever really pressed their advantages and launched a nuclear attack against their enemies.

 

[Turkeybased]

Not to be a stickler for history, but MAD was long before the eighties. During the Cuba missile crisis Khruchshev and Kenndey were afraid of of total destruction and the Russian's were the ones that backed down from that confrontation. JFK sent Robert K telling the Russians if the missiles were not removed from Cuba America would strike in 48 hrs. and part of the deal would be removal of American Jupiter 2 missiles from Turkey.

Fast Forward: Both sides had many false positives and Minute Man missiles in addition to sorties following up until a tertiary strike. One of the biggest reasons though I make this point is lack of communication from both sides produced anxiety.

Khruchshev's bluff was the Russians had already developed ICBMs (60's) and could theoritically attack the US. Once Am politicians believed this as a real threat we developed our own (albiet) first ICBMs the world had seen. M.A.D was developed out of this era which still continues, but most historians feel the absolute end of the Cold War was the fall of the Berlin Wall in 89'

 

[Boomer]

Not to be a stickler for history, but MAD was long before the eighties. During the Cuba missile crisis Khruchshev and Kenndey were afraid of of total destruction and the Russian's were the ones that backed down from that confrontation. JFK sent Robert K telling the Russians if the missiles were not removed from Cuba America would strike in 48 hrs. and part of the deal would be removal of American Jupiter 2 missiles from Turkey.

If you had played Metal Gear Solid 3, you would know that the Turkey missile removal was just a front and they were going to remove those anyway. America's side of the bargain was to give Nikolai Sokolov, the Soviet's top scientist who seeked exile in the US, back to the Soviet Union.

 

[Turkeybased]

Nice :lol

 

[Boomer]

Historical inaccuracies annoy me, just wanted to clear that up....

The story in the link above is pretty neat though.

 

[Turkeybased]

It is amazing though when you really think about it how close we have come to all-out ThermoWar

 

[midnightguy]

The Holy Spirit - God - Jesus was with Stanislav Petrov


nice read, thanks

 

[Jim Bowie]

That makes two Stanislas I respect; this Stanislav Petrov and Stanislaw Lem.

 

[tedtropy]

Eh, the moment he clicked the Start button, the system probably would've blue-screened anyways. LOLAMIRITE. Whooo!1 Yeah, you know what I'm talking about Windows users. <high five>

"Launching Nuclear Counteratta-a-a-a-a-a <click>"

 

[Drozmight]

That's one of many close calls...

If I can recallthe US actually had bombers over soviet territory ready to go at one point and had to send fighter jets to intercept them due to their radio silence.

And some other incident during the cuban missle crisis where two out of three soviet sub commanders sitting on the ocean floor thought war had broken out and started heading to miami with their nuclear torpedos. The third commander convinced them otherwise.

 

[tedtropy]

That's one of many close calls...

If I can recallthe US actually had bombers over soviet territory ready to go at one point and had to send fighter jets to intercept them due to their radio silence.

Sounds alot like the plot to Dr. Strangelove...

 

[Instigator]

Not to be a stickler for history, but MAD was long before the eighties. During the Cuba missile crisis Khruchshev and Kenndey were afraid of of total destruction and the Russian's were the ones that backed down from that confrontation. JFK sent Robert K telling the Russians if the missiles were not removed from Cuba America would strike in 48 hrs. and part of the deal would be removal of American Jupiter 2 missiles from Turkey.

I have trouble calling it backing down because the deal with the missiles in Turkey was not made public for a while. They were quietly removed 6 months later after the missile crisis, as part of a secret deal, and no wonder as it can be seen as a military retreat on the part of the US.

Yes, there were tensions, but it is inaccurate to call it a staring contest where one blinked first.

 

[Alucard]

The Cold War was almost entirely about securing America's place as the dominant economic, political, and military power in the world. All the talk about "the evils of communism" was rhetoric to keep the support of the people already living in capitalist societies.

 

[whytemyke]

The Cold War was almost entirely about securing America's place as the dominant economic, political, and military power in the world. All the talk about "the evils of communism" was rhetoric to keep the support of the people already living in capitalist societies.

Same can be said for both sides. Although you are right, in that Americans have this image of Soviet era Russia as this Godless, hateful country just soaking to nuke us. Once we were able to launch our Trident subs (which, personally, is when I would say the theory of MAD started-- mid 70s) with MIRV technology on board, it became a literal stalemate. Meh... I'm rambling. Point being, both sides were interested in the same thing, staying alive, and to do that meant no nuclear war.

The one thing to look at (also referred to surprisingly in MGS3) is that Kruschev and Kennedy had an understanding of each other. They knew each other (not personally, just politically) and they knew what one or the other was doing. This is partly how the Kennedy administration was able to tell when the politburo tried to engage in a power struggle with Kruschev during the Missile Crisis.

 

[nitewulf]

good find, great story.