When would the line be crossed

The UK has recently announced that in the new defence spending review they are going to increase the amount of nuclear warheads currently held and redefine their deployment and use, for example a Bio or Chemical attack.
My question is what would it take for retaliation let’s say for instance the Russian GRU agents that traveled to the UK and poisoned Skripal with a military grade chemical weapon. The Russians to this day deny it was them even with a the weight of evidence against them. What if they had poisoned the water supply of London thousands dead. Or a deadly bio virus. Certainly with Skripol all the UK or most nations could do would be to wave a finger and tell them not to be naughty boys. So what would it take?

originally posted by: redchad
The UK has recently announced that in the new defence spending review they are going to increase the amount of nuclear warheads currently held and redefine their deployment and use, for example a Bio or Chemical attack.
My question is what would it take for retaliation let’s say for instance the Russian GRU agents that traveled to the UK and poisoned Skripal with a military grade chemical weapon. The Russians to this day deny it was them even with a the weight of evidence against them. What if they had poisoned the water supply of London thousands dead. Or a deadly bio virus. Certainly with Skripol all the UK or most nations could do would be to wave a finger and tell them not to be naughty boys. So what would it take?

How would the UK respond to a bio attack? COVID-19? I guess you have to be smart enough to know you have been attacked.

a reply to: redchad

it would take a declaration of war against said parties

and once you go nuclear you cant go back, first it's tactical to be shortly followed by limited strategic strikes with ICBM's and hopefully never to occur would be full commitment AKA the end of the world.

India, Pakistan and China is what worries me when it comes to someone popping off a nuke.

a reply to: redchad

We live on an island roughly 700 miles long.

Just one Russian Satan 2 ICBM could blanket this nation in nuclear fire from one end to the other.

Geographically we cannot win in any nuclear exchange, even France would kick our arse and come out the other side in better shape, if there is such a thing, just down to the size of the nation.

We should never have entered in to the nuclear arms race imho.

And its the same boat where biological and/or chemical attacks are concerned, we just don't have the space to absorb such a blow.

a reply to: redchad

Nuclear War has no winners, except maybe flies, rats and cockroaches.

a reply to: Grenade

Have you read "Domain" by James Herbert?

That's a good book about nuclear war and nature stating over with the rats.

About London if memory serves ta boot.

a reply to: redchad

I’ll state again; why would anyone start a nuclear war?

It ends with everyone’s end; including the elite, because they would have no ants left to magnify.

a reply to: andy06shake

I’ve read Haunted and the Ghosts of Sleath years ago so will give this a look. I enjoy his books.

a reply to: redchad

I once imagined that "accidentally" releasing a deadly virus and letting it spread to cripple the world and destroy the economies of multiple countries might have crossed a few lines.

But apparently it's all totally fine.

Seems people have different ideas about where that line is.

a reply to: redchad
I believe I've read that it is not physically possible for the UK to use its nuclear arsenal without American consent, though the point is not advertised.

Ok forget Russia or China let's say Iran or North Korean agents were caught on the UK or US mainland in the act or infact did it. When and what sort of retaliation would people say was proportionate?

originally posted by: redchad
Ok forget Russia or China let's say Iran or North Korean agents were caught on the UK or US mainland in the act or infact did it. When and what sort of retaliation would people say was proportionate?

The spineless clowns running the UK would do nothing.

Maybe they'd apologise for the Empire and blame the British people for sexism or some other garbage.

In a nuclear war, nobody wins. Even the countries that don't participate in it. A perfect description of this can be found in my favorite book. It's by Nevil Shute and it's called "On The Beach." In it, a nuclear confrontation breaks out in the Northern Hemisphere and the last people to live before the fallout reaches them are people at the bottom south of Australia. It really brings it home what would happen if countries used nuclear bombs. I highly suggest this book. They made a movie out of it starring Gregory Peck in 1959, but the movie isn't very accurate to the book.

a reply to: DISRAELI

Thats mince, we answer to nobody but the bankers and corporations, same as yourself.

And no they don't advertise the predicament nether.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: redchad
I believe I've read that it is not physically possible for the UK to use its nuclear arsenal without American consent, though the point is not advertised.

Your wrong in fact they have an easier time launching then the US can. They rely on military discipline where in the US they have launch codes they use Permissive Action Links (PALs) so no one can launch without presidential approval. In the UK thats not the case at all each commander has the ability to launch there is no lock.

a reply to: Tulpa

An apology would not be able to be specific given that hundreds of years of hugely varied colonialism around the globe that has taken place and cannot all be lumped together without generalising.

a reply to: andy06shake

I'm assuming you aren't familiar with the current mindset within the UK government.
Everyone is weeeelly weeeelly sowwy about everything British and we are supposed to cheer on the countries that might hate us.
It's all our fault.....everything......

In fact, if the country who wanted to attack us would tip us off in advance, they would probably queue up to help them.

The New GB is bad and we should feel bad . Must woke more.

a reply to: Tulpa

Naw mate i only live here.

Current mindsets divided, thats the colour of our day in spades.

As to "weeeelly weeeelly sowwy" what ever that means.

We are all fine and dandy, just trying to get out from behind the lockdown procedures, nothing weak about that just prudent.

Nobody coming to attack us nether, Russia included.

a reply to: andy06shake

I don't think anyone's going to attack us.
I'm not even sure if believe what we were told about the Skripal case.

Recruitment in the army has been a problem for a while now apparently and I don't suppose it helps when they try to weed out any "patriotic" soldiers in case they're suspected of a little "too much" patriotism.
Presumably they only want to recruit people who actually want the enemy to win because it would be racist or some such nonsense if we actually wanted to win.

I know you're in the UK. You must have seen the decline in quality of politics here?
Globalism, wokeness and self hatred is all the rage now.

Getting attacked?
With our government, we need no foreign enemies at all.

a reply to: Tulpa

I seen the Tories get back in to power and Brexit happen.

Decline in quality of politics, aye that's one way of looking at it i suppose. LoL

To true mate, who needs foreign enemies, when the domestic ones have us over the barrel and on the ropes.

The real enemy is austerity if we are honest, and that's not going away anytime soon imho.