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US aimed to nuke civilian populations in enemy cities during Cold War – declassified document
US aimed to nuke civilian populations in enemy cities during Cold War – declassified document
The Strategic Air Command (SAC) Atomic Weapons Requirements Study for 1959, produced in June 1956, was published by the National Security Archive on Tuesday.
Totaling almost 800 pages, the document details targets in over 1,200 cities, including Moscow, Beijing, and Warsaw. The list for each city contains details on targeting the population, along with industrial and infrastructural targets.
Moscow and Leningrad were marked as priority one and two, respectively. Moscow had 179 Designated Ground Zeros (DGZs), while Leningrad had 145, in addition to “population” targets. In both cities, the list identified air power installations such as Soviet Air Force command centers, which the US would have demolished with thermonuclear weapons early in the war.
The document also includes lists of more than 1,100 airfields in the Soviet bloc, with a priority number assigned to each base. The Soviet bomber force was the highest priority for nuclear testing, and the list labels Bykhov and Orsha airfields, both located in Belorussia, as priority one and two, respectively. Medium-range Badger (TU-16) bombers, which would have posed a threat to the US and NATO allies, were present at both bases.
Soviet airfields were to be targeted with bombs ranging from 1.7 to 9 megatons, which were capable of inflicting heavy damage. The US also hailed the necessity of a 60-megaton bomb (4,000 times larger than the Hiroshima bomb’s 15 kilotons), which was capable of delivering “significant results” in the event of war with the Soviet bloc.
The National Security Archive, based at George Washington University, obtained the nuclear target list through the Mandatory Declassification Review (MDR) process.
Polish Farmers Blockade Motorways Across Country
Polish Farmers Blockade Motorways Across Country
This week thousands of Polish family farmers from the Solidarity trade union turned out to protest in over 50 locations across the country. Over 150 tractors have been blockading the A2 motorway into Warsaw since the 3rd February and hundreds more have closed roads and are picketing governmental offices in other regions. The farmers are vowing to continue the struggle until the government agrees to enter talks with the union and commit to addressing what they see as a crisis in Polish agriculture.
These actions represent a dramatic escalation of protests that have been simmering across the country over the last year. Edward Kosmal, chairman of the farmers protest committee for West-Pomeranian Region said:
We are ready for dialogue. We look forward to meeting with you Prime Minister and beginning a comprehensive government commitment to solving the problems of Polish agriculture. If you do not enter into a dialogue with the Union, we would be forced to tighten our forms of protest.
The four key demands of the farmers are:
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Russia expels Polish diplomats as row deepens – Europe – Al Jazeera English
Russia expels Polish diplomats as row deepens – Europe – Al Jazeera English.
Russia has expelled a number of Polish diplomats accusing them of activities “incompatible with their status” in response to expulsions of Russian diplomats by Warsaw, the foreign ministry has said.
“The Polish authorities indeed took such an unfriendly and absolutely groundless step,” the ministry said on Monday, confirming Polish media reports that several Russian officials had been expelled by Warsaw earlier.
“The Russian side took appropriate measures and a number of Polish diplomats have already left the territory of our country for activities incompatible with their status,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, using diplomatic language that generally refers to espionage.
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