Two Nuclear Submarines Collide at Sea

Do you want a world free of nuclear weapons? Then you should read this.

From the Salt Lake Tribune: Dyer: Collision at sea raises question: Why were they carrying nukes?

A ship I once served in had a small brass plate on the bridge with a quotation from Thucydides, the Greek statesman, historian and seaman of the fourth century BC: "A collision at sea can ruin your whole day." It is still true.

In the North Atlantic Ocean, on the night of Feb. 3-4, at an undisclosed depth, the British nuclear submarine Vanguard and the French nuclear submarine Le Triomphant ran into each other. Both boats were "boomers," missile-firing submarines carrying sixteen ballistic missiles, each of which can deliver several nuclear warheads at intercontinental range.

The North Atlantic is the second biggest ocean in the world. The submarines are considerably smaller: around 475 feet long. So there they are, puttering along at six knots or less, with an entire ocean to play in, and freedom in three dimensions (they can go very deep if they want) -- and they run into each other. The damage was slight, but it ruined the day for two whole navies. How could they have been so stupid?

We have just been reminded that although the Cold War ended 20 years ago, all the nuclear weapons are still there. Not only that, but the submarine-launched ones are still out on patrol as if this were 1975. There is not a single good reason for them all to be doing this, but nobody has told them to stop. Why not?

Because you don't know what the future might bring? I didn't say scrap the subs tomorrow, but tie them up in port and stop this nonsense. If we all end up in a new Cold War one day, then okay, you can have them back, but why are they cruising around out there now?

And by the way, if you could all agree to stop these ridiculous patrols, it would be a useful step towards the more sweeping measures of nuclear disarmament that all the great powers say they want, and that President Barack Obama has adopted as a serious goal.

Obama is the first occupant of the White House since Ronald Reagan with the vision to imagine a future free of nuclear weapons, and unlike Reagan he's smart enough not to let the guardians of nuclear orthodoxy talk him out of it. He has a lot on his plate right now, but here's a step in the right direction that costs nothing: announce that the U.S. Navy will no longer run "combat patrols" with its nuclear missile-firing submarines, and invite the world's other nuclear weapons powers to follow suit.

After this little demonstration of folly, they'd all come along pretty promptly.