The Nuclear Age and What Could Lie Ahead

Nuclear warhead stockpiles, 1945-2005

In today’s day and age, ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, the threat of nuclear war has gotten farther and farther away from the daily headlines in our newspapers and in our news programs. However, there was a semi-new development recently in Iran from around the fall of last year. Iran’s nuclear program, where everybody else is slowly cleaning out their stockpiles, is currently working on trying to grow theirs, spending a lot of money on their uranium enrichment programs and other nuclear facilities. This has lead many countries angry with Iran, most of which have so placed economic sanctions against Iran, such as not allowing oil imports from Iran, as a means of penalizing them for doing something that is very dangerous to the international community. While there are still talks from both Iran and western officials, some would say this is one of the biggest potential nuclear scares since the cold war. Fortunately, Iran hasn’t made a bomb yet, but reports sat Iran very close to making weapons-grade uranium. And in the most volatile area in the world, the middle east, One would have to worry if nuclear weaponry found their way into the Iranian’s hands.
    Talks are said to resume later on May 23 between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers, but what is to be discussed might be a moot point. Iran doesn’t look like it’s going stop what their doing. Nobody, especially the U.S., wants to back to the middle east for war again, this time in Iran. However, it could very well be a possible scenario. I see this and I can’t help but seeing parallels with the combination of the Korean and Vietnam Wars with the combination of the War in Iraq and Afghanistan and the possible occupation of Iran. It very well could be another reason why the phrase “History tends to repeat itself” is very fitting in a lot historical and political lessons over time. Let’s just hope it does repeat itself, because at least that would mean there wouldn’t be a nuclear end-of-the-world.