How likely is nuclear war?

I think that, at some point in humanity's future, nuclear weapons will be dropped again.thepwninator

I'm not really sure about that; if one side has nukes and the other doesn't, then the side with the nukes can win. The only real way to prevent the use of nukes is the knowledge that their use will lead to one's own demise as well.

Just their use.thepwninator

In that case, yeah, I could see nuclear weapons being used by some fanatic who gets his hand on one and has no fear of death. I don't think there will ever be full-scale nuclear war between nuclear-armed nations, though.

Gotta wait for the next insane crazy dictator with nukes and it will most likely happen.MgamerBD

Nuclear war is always a very real threat that can happen at any time. Misrepresentation or inaccurate information of a research satellite launched in the wrong direction towards a hostile country could result in the launching of a nuke because of the inaccurate information. Don't think that it takes the scarcity of a needed supply, or a long and drawn out war, to start the use of nuclear weapons.Babolu

Unlikely, but if the terrorists get some.... we are oficially doomed.:? It would still be unlikely for them to get one........MrEnvelope

[QUOTE="MgamerBD"]Gotta wait for the next insane crazy dictator with nukes and it will most likely happen.sSubZerOo

[QUOTE="Infinite-Zr0"]I'm gonna create Skynet
So in about... 5-10 years

well, its not really likely anytime soon, but then again it could happen anytime. I think the more time goes on and the longer we have nuclear weapons, the effect starts to fade. The longer you have something the more comfortable you are with it and it doesn't impact you the same. Its like something that you say you would never do, but eventually do anyway, by accident or not. Everyone has done something like that...well maybe not every single person but close. Then you are more bound to do it because you've already done it once.

Plus, terrorists and islamists pose a greater threat and chance of nuclear detonation. I'm not saying every islamist or every person in the middle east. But you have people who want to kill themselves along with as many people as possible...They should not be allowed anywhere around nukes. Countries that favor them or support them should not be allowed to have nukes. Hopefully people agree with me. Nations who wish to acquire nuclear weapons better be smart and only use nukes for greater influence, because thats the highest purpose they can have w/o destroying civilization

[QUOTE="Infinite-Zr0"]I'm gonna create Skynet
So in about... 5-10 yearsGabuEx

I thought just posting a picture with nothing else was "disruptive posting". Tsk tsk! DigitalExile

Haven't you heard that cliche? I posted a thousand words in that post. :P

All it takes is one lunatic, one dictator that wants to do it. All it takes is a Hitler who has no regards for human life, who just wants to see chaos. When a man like that gets ahold of nuclear power, prepare for nuclear war.CruxisXIII

People with no regard for their own self-preservation tend not to be the sort of people who emerge as dictators of regimes large enough to possess nuclear weapons. By many measurements one could have called Stalin and Khruschev insane, but both of them were interested in self-preservation enough that they never launched the bomb. It's for that reason that I personally doubt all-out nuclear war between nations will happen. It's like that quote from WarGames: "(Global thermonuclear war) is a curious game. The only way to win is not to play."

[QUOTE="MgamerBD"]Gotta wait for the next insane crazy dictator with nukes and it will most likely happen.sSubZerOo

You know there are people without no sense...people that just want to watch the world burn and those kind of people will not think twice to end the world if they had the power to.MgamerBD

And those people are not the sorts of people to become the leaders of nations with nuclear weapons. People who are in the running to be the next big dictator have to be throughly and totally self-interested, and such people tend not to like the prospect of dying in nuclear fire.

[QUOTE="MgamerBD"]You know there are people without no sense...people that just want to watch the world burn and those kind of people will not think twice to end the world if they had the power to.GabuEx

And those people are not the sorts of people to become the leaders of nations with nuclear weapons. People who are in the running to be the next big dictator have to be throughly and totally self-interested, and such people tend not to like the prospect of dying in nuclear fire.

I'd say its inevitable.

In every crisis where things could have gone nuclear, one side had room to back down. Eventually, there will be a situation where both sides have their backs to the wall and no choice but to fight.

It may not be large enough to destroy civilization like in Fallout, but it will produce nearly incomprehensible destruction.