posted on Mar, 30 2010 @ 04:41 PM
No.
The USA and Russia are speaking for years now to reduce arms. With the cold war over their is no need for such a large nuclear arsenal for many
reasons.
- Cost; the cost of maintaining a nuclear arsenal are great. They come in the form of maintainance, check-ups, security and possibility to use. (e.g.
sending out submarines armed with ballastic missles and nuclear warheads)
- Use; both sides have so many nuceal weapons that they can both easily destroy the entire world by themselves. Since nuclear weapons are extremely
rare in use their is no real need for such a vast supply of nuclear weapons. It is more practicle to harnass a 'clever' use of nuclear weapons.
- Deterioration; While the nuclear energy of a bomb last for decades and centuries, missle guidancecontrols don't. The nuclear stockpile contains
various nuclear weapons that still originate from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Using such old nuclear weapons is a liability in itself. You
don't want your ICBM exploding seconds after liftoff due to malfunctioning electronics. You also don't wan't a dud on hostile terrain either.
- Outarmed; While nuclear missles are definitly one of the strongest most potent weapons, they lack the proper use in combat. They really are a last
choice when your nation is battered and bruised it can launch them to make others battered and bruised as well. But the destructive scale is being
caught up by use of MOAB's for isntance. Also, most often you want more precise weapons. Tactical nukes might work but are not necessarily the best
choice for it.
If you look at it from a different side you might also wonder why aliens would be afraid for nuclear weapons. For starts, because they can travel
space their ships are by default protected against radiation and massive impacts (like meteorites) of anything, the blastwave might nock they
equipment off since in space it will create a shockwave that destroys fragile equipment. But even then, we already can stop missles with our
technology, so aliens can stop our ICBM's easily if it was even needed.
Even if I were to think of different goals like lasting peace then I would rather expect them to pop up over China, our rising new superpower, or
India. Those nations will play a mayor role on earth this coming few decades and have nuclear strike capabilities as well. Russia and the US haven't
used nukes in active combat ever since the end of Worldwar 2 and have thus proven to be responseble with their arsenal at least in wartimes. Testing
has also become ever more controlled and less often as well and Tjernobile thought us all a lesson.
To be honest, nuclear weapons are still a mayor fearfactor, but with som many different nations having them, it is foolish to use them just as
deterrent.