nuclear attack on britain- how likely

[blackbunny]

Posting this in AIBU for traffic.
With all the current unrest in the world, I've found myself obsessing today about the possibility of Britain being attacked.
Now, I suffer from depression and anxiety that is controlled by ADs. My husband has serious health issues, undergoing chemo atm and I'm naturally worried about the outcome. Till today, I've been coping with my feelings and emotions well. But today, seemingly out of the blue I'm haunted by the fear of a nuclear attack, can't seem to shake off the feelings of dread and fear.
I know in my head the reality is remote, but I suppose what I need to hear is that that is right.
Can anybody reassure me? Please help.

America warning Russia of their intended attack on Syria is one example of how great powers are avoiding conflict rather than seeking it.
Compare that to the Cold War and we are eons apart.

The major powers which have nuclear weapons also have the 'radar' to sense the launch of such a weapon. With the knowledge that a nuclear strike would result in a reciprocal strike BEFORE impact, no country will do an initial launch. If they do, we are dead before we know it. Nice!!!

this thread needs some falsetto

There's a website where you can see the radius of damage that would be caused by a nuclear bomb.
It's unlikely it will ever come to that point, but if it did the chances of you being unable to avoid the impact zone or radiation fallout areas is slim.
What's going on is risky business and it does make me mad that rich powerful people who will ultimately have their safety shelters..are using innocent civilians in their pathetic games.
We've been in situations like these before and nothing came of it, and I'm pretty sure it will all die down again very soon.
I'm sorry for what you're going through and I wish your husband all the luck in the world for a speedy recovery xx

Do you know what, I am more worried about getting old and ill with very little pension and no assets. Being obliterated by a nuclear bomb is the least of my worries!

I was out tonight, so have come back and trump has dropped a big bomb on Afghanistan and is sabre rattling with north Korea.

Something will happen. I'm in central London right now and I don't feel safe, I can't wait to get home to my kids and my dog.

I'm with Shoes have Souls. I think we should be worried.

I'm more worried about climate change and environmental catastrophe.The Great Barrier Reef is dying, species are becoming extinct at a great rate and areas of the world are becoming uninhabitable. This is happening now and is probably not able to be stopped.

What I was feeling concerned about today was the potential risk of another terrorist attack, as revenge for the US bombing today of caves in Afghanistan that are believed to have been used by ISIS fighters. What does everyone else think

I think ISIS will use any excuse to attack. Even if the US didnt target their cave systems they'd have attacked some one somewhere at some point again in the future.

On a sidenote, I think it's important whether you thing Donald Trump is a strategist or a raging unpredictable idiot. He doesn't make these decisions by himself and the US military forces would have planned/suggested this as a strategy. I saw people losing their shit over it on twitter last night, professing about 'random killings'. It wasn't a random killing. It was a targeted airstrike on a complex network of underground ISIS tunnels. I can't get too upset about it.

Re the nuclear weapons. It's not going to happen. We have our own. As mentioned above. Its not a calculated risk. Those with them know if they use them on us we'll use ours back. Ours are positioned out at sea I believe. Which means anything aimed at us will be destroyed in the air with before it even reaches us. Those countries with nuclear weapons aren't going to be that stupid to put it bluntly.

WW3 is very unlikely because we all are aware of the cost after the first two WWs. Nuclear attack won't happen. As mentioned above, they'll be signing their own death warrant.
A terrorist attack is still more likely, not because of any strikes on ISIS tunnels or because someone's drawn a cartoon of Mohammed, but because this is ISIS and they'd take offence at a woman farting in the wrong direction and plant a bomb somewhere. They're a terrorist organisation. It's what they do, it's their version of chess. Even then, I still wouldn't worry, our secret services do an amazing job of keeping us safe on a daily basis, we only ever hear about the attacks they don't manage to foil, never the several ones that they do manage to intercept. Basically, leave the secret services to worry for you! That's what they get paid for!

Be vigilant about your surroundings yes but try not to be fearful. It's highly unlikely. I know that's easier said than done, I suffer from anxiety too. We'll be alright.

How is this thread going to help anxiety? How are all the threads popping up going to help?
It's very unlikely indeed to happen. But no one can tell you 100% it won't.
By involving yourself in message after message after theory or idea you aren't helping yourself just continue with your life.
You can't do anything about it either way!!!

lurkinghusband where in London were you because it certainly wasn't like that in 1987 for me.

I'm sorry to sound unsympathetic but every thread that appears is perpetuating the anxiety

Discussing it will feed the anxiety for an anxious person. I think anyone at the stage of not sleeping night after night about this needs to see their doctor. I mean that in the kindest way. It's really not good for your health or your relationships to let sensationalist news affect your life to this extent. Also, stay off most of the news sites. They live to do this to people - keeps us all hooked.

Seriously shop.watching the news and looking stuff up.

Ignorance is bless. If there is a nuclear war we probably wont know about it any way.

The Doomsday Clock is for global catastrophe, not specifically nuclear war.

I do not think any serious commentator believes Daesh, or any terrorist or criminal group, have nuclear warheads or the ICBMs to deliver them. Even allowing for Kazakhstan.

While everyone panics over a nuclear war that isnt going to happen the things you COULD affect get worse.

I am worried about

Not having a health service left because the government is deliberately starving it of funds

Not having a planet my child can live on because Trump is a climate change denier.

The mass movements of population that are already beginnings as a result of climate change

If you are anxious make it about something where action can make you feel better

lurkinghusband where in London were you because it certainly wasn't like that in 1987 for me.

By the river in Woolwich. Being London it was never dark which was the first scary thing when I woke - all the navigation lights on the river were out and it was the most black you can imagine.

We walked into town next day, as nothing was running, and counted over 100 fallen trees from the main road. When we got to town the street outside the main Uni building was cordened off, as the huge refectory windows had blown out and covered the road.

But London is a big city - my DB who was still in Harrow said it wasn't as bad as we had it.

The point being, if we were to experience the same in 2017, my last thought would be "oh, it's a nuclear bomb". Tensions in the 80s were much higher in some respects - especially after 1986 when Reagan launched an airstrike on Libya from the UK, and we became a direct target for international terrorism (the rest of Europe refused to allow US planes to use their airspace).

I think it's unlikely but I still worry. I think the main possibility is fallout

You mean literal nuclear fallout or metaphorical fallout?🤔

Highly unlikely for all the reasons given above.
Don't know about Derby, I think first target would be Grangemouth where most of the UKs oil is distributed from. The INEOS plant which dominates the area would certainly go up with a bang! I say this glibly as I work near there and would be vapourised.

I always thought it would be where our nuclear submarine bases are.

I always thought it would be where our nuclear submarine bases are.

Er ... the reason we have our nuclear deterrent in submarines is so that no-one - not even the PM - knows where they are.

In the event of an attack on Britain the subs could still launch their missiles at the attacker (generally presumed to be Russia).

The fact that the UK could act after being hit is the heart of the "deterrence" factor in being a nuclear power. Mutually Assured Destruction.

You wouldn't need many bombs on the UK anyway. One or two would bring the country to it's knees and make it incapable of defending itself against invasion (if that were the objective).

I would think it would be London if any where - take out the government and large swathes of U.K. industries and national infrastructure with the greatest potential for loss of life.

They may not be actually taking out plants and manufacturing bases but they will likely take out lots of the people who run stuff in the country including those sites. Plus the fallout around London would be significant in terms of limiting any help coming from abroad as lots of airports and ports are in and around SE and East of England.

Er ... the reason we have our nuclear deterrent in submarines is so that no-one - not even the PM - knows where they are.
Well that's not true tbf, we have naval bases in Scotland that are home to our submarine fleet. When they're out at sea nobody would know of their location but their actual base is no secret.

We are certainly living in interesting times....

*Alreadytaken
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Climate change issues won't effect your children. Besides there's legitimate reasons why people question climate change, for example the climate changes we've had throughout history which can't be blamed on modern life and are just natural occurrences.