There are enough hydrogen bombs on Earth to destroy every human being. But sixty years ago there was no such thing. And one man was determined to keep it that way. Robert Oppenheimer claimed he was defending the human race. His enemies believed he should be crushed for betraying America. Was the world heading for Armageddon? Nuclear Secrets III: Superbomb
‘As of today we are living in the age of the superbomb.’ ibid. Oppenheimer
Sakharov had seen all of Fuch’s information but he wanted to go his own way. ibid.
A three-mile wide fireball recreated every element the universe had ever seen. It was equivalent to a thousand Hiroshimas. Five thousand miles away Teller watched the birth of his bomb. ibid.
The Soviet H-bomb had arrived several years earlier than the CIA had predicted fuelling suspicions there were still spies at large in America. ibid.
[Lewis] Strauss ordered the FBI to seize all Oppenheimer’s classified files. ibid.
The world’s worst nightmare: a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. But hidden in the desert is an atom bomb factory the West helped build it and it belongs to Israel. One man exposes an international conspiracy of silence. He’s up against one of the most feared secret services in the world. And they won’t stop till they’ve got him. Nuclear Secrets IV: Vanunu and the Bomb
He risked a heavy prison sentence to take photos of what he’d seen. ibid.
Mossad would be coming after him. ibid.
‘Israel could have up to 200 atom bombs.’ ibid. UK expert
There was a long list of Western countries who would be very embarrassed if Vanunu’s story ever got out. ibid.
The next day Israel denied the allegations. ibid.
The Sunday Mirror printed pictures of Vanunu and ridiculed his story. ibid.
The Sunday Times finally decided on publish on October 5th. ibid.
Curiously, the world’s press didn’t want to know. ibid.
For eleven years Vanunu was in solitary confinement. ibid.
Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, brilliant scientist, trusted colleague, nuclear spy. Khan’s masterplan: to steal Europe’s nuclear secrets, build an atomic bomb for Pakistan, and set up a smuggling network to sell those secrets on to Middle Eastern states from Libya to Iran. A nuclear network reaching as far as North Korea. Nuclear Secrets V: The Terror Trader
The mastermind behind the biggest global nuclear smuggling ring. ibid.
He got a job at Europe’s largest civilian atomic research consortium. ibid.
Khan flew to Pakistan, Christmas 1975. ibid.
With contacts all over Europe Khan’s bomb project rapidly accelerated. ibid.
‘The Chinese provided invaluable assistance to Pakistan’s nuclear efforts.’ ibid.
At a chicken farm in the Iraqi desert they uncovered a treasure trove of documents … The Iraqi secret service received an offer from Khan’s network. ibid.
1998: Pakistan exploded its first bomb in response to Indian nuclear tests of the same month. ibid.
The cheque cleared: Khan had helped Iran on the road to nuclear power. ibid.
Between April 2015 and March 2017, 2579 weapons were seized in British schools. Of these almost 500 were knives. Crimes that Shook Britain s8e2: Ann Maguire
You want the weapons or your don’t want the weapons? They’re assault rifles … I got principles. Free Fire 2016 starring Sharlto Copley & Armie Hammer & Brie Larson & Cillian Murphy & Jack Reynor & Babou Ceesay & Enzo Cilenti & Sam Riley & Michael Smiley & Noah Taylor & Patrick Bergin & Tom Daivs & Mark Monero et al, director Ben Wheatley, Rhodesian dude
Nail her, Gordon. There’s a promotion in it for you, boy. ibid.
Beams of light with unimaginable power harnessing the raw energy of the lightning bolt fuelled by a mysterious invisible force: science fiction fantasy or the design for a working light-sabre? Michio Kaku, Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible s1e8: How to Build a Light-Sabre, Science 2009
I’m going to build a star-fighter that can blow up the death star. The death star is the most monstrous weapon to appear in science fiction. Michio Kaku, Sci-Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible s2e7: Destroy the Death Star
Which country in the Middle East has undeclared nuclear weapons? Which country in the Middle East has undeclared biological and chemical capabilities? Which country in the Middle East has no outside inspections? Which country jailed its nuclear whistleblower for 18 years? Israel’s Secret Weapon ***** BBC 2003
Mordechai Vanunu jailed as a traitor: he spent 11 years in solitary confinement. ibid.
Vanunu moved to Israel as a child with his family from Morocco. He served in the Israeli army. ibid.
Today his are still the only photographs ever seen of the inside of Israel’s nuclear bomb factory. ibid.
It took weeks for the Sunday Times to go to press with their scoop. When they finally did on October 5th 1986 Vanunu had vanished. ibid.
He’d met an American woman in Leicester Square who seemed to like him; he was vulnerable and afraid … He fell for it; it was a classic honey trap. Once in Rome the full wait of Israel’s wroth kicked in. ibid.
Israel has the world’s sixth largest nuclear arsenal. ibid.
Vanunu is the ultimate conscientious objector. ibid.
Evidence has seeped out of accidents, lies and deceit. ibid.
More than 100 Dimona workers who had developed cancer and whose claims were being ignored. ibid.
The weapons that couldn’t cope with mud or sand … The myth I grew up with was that German kit was best … Nazi quality control delayed vital weapons production: it is just an astonishing waste of time and money and effort. Nazi War Machines: Secrets Uncovered IV: Weaponry, Channel 4 2019
Interference from the very top meant a game-changing weapon failed to reach the front line. And what they needed was just a little bit of firepower. ibid.
The bedrock of any fighting force is its infantry … Walther P38: smaller … cheaper to produce … with a range of thirty metres … One of the defining weapons of the German army in World War II: the devastating machine gun … Even the humble rifle was so finely crafted it couldn’t cope with ice, mud or sand in battle conditions. ibid.
Man’s savagery is often matched by his ingenuity. The unusual weapons that originated in the Far East reveal a human capacity for violence that first took root amongst ancient warriors. Ancient Discoveries: Twisted Weapons of the East, History 2003
Throughout history gunners have found it difficult to aim in the dark. Today tracer bullets are used to mark out the line of fire in the night sky. But could a similar tactic first have been used over five hundred years ago? Ancient Discoveries: Guns ’N Ammo
On 4th July the great Turkish cannon opened fire on the city walls ... How did the Turks hit their targets in the dark? ibid.
The Korean War, which caused 3 million deaths and the Vietnam War, which killed 2 million people, were the most deadly conflicts. All 138 wars were fought in the Third World, and many were fuelled by weapons provided by the two major powers or their allies ...
The surfeit of weapons, especially small arms, left over from this era is a key enabling factor in many conflicts now scarring the world ... Yet the arms trade continues ... The five permanent members of the Security Council provide 86% of the arms exported to developing countries. In 1992, the United States alone accounted for 46%. United Nations Our Global Neighbourhood: The Report of the Commission on Global Governance 1995
Viktor Bout: A story about a Russian intelligence agent who became … the biggest, the most dangerous, arms trader in the history of mankind. Daniel Estulin, lecture Alternative View 4, ‘The Shadow Masters: Real Global Terrorists’
Victor Bout is thought to have supplied weapons for wars all over the world … His AK47s ended up almost everywhere … But the deal that ended it all was with the FARC rebels in Colombia. ibid.
Throughout history the journey of mankind has been shaped by a race to develop the most effective weapon. To decode mankind, we need to understand how the arms race has helped us to survive and made us what we are today … Civilisation also has a dark side. Secret History of Humans II
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was a triumphant assertion of Britain’s power in the world. But it was held in a city that was still ruined from the bombing ten years before. Britain had been bankrupted by the War. Many of those clustered around the new Queen knew that it could no longer afford to rule the world. Adam Curtis, The Mayfair Set I: Who Pays Wins ***** Channel 4 1999