Many commentators over recent years have shared Bob Hughes’ concerns over nuclear weapons being used on actual battlefields — be they the bigger, high-yielding bombs or the smaller yield, so-called tactical nukes.
We should not be consoled by the fact that tactical nukes on a battlefield would be relatively low yielding. A single protoganist country would likely not capitulate to a battlefield loss, and instead would let loose their “big boy” nukes in the enemy homelands and territories — lose the battle but win the war so to speak.
Even our Moon is not safe from being “nuked”.
India is to be congratulated on its “soft landing” on the Moon, thereby becoming a leader in the “space race”. But the likelihood that India and other countries that have made successful Moon landings will agree to let the Moon become protected from exploitation of its resources is remote.
If the “big hitters” of space exploration do decide to divvy up the Moon’s regions and resources, how will their claims be enforced — Moon-orbiting tactical nukes?
