September 26th, 1983: The day the world almost died

Daily Mail ^ | 29th December 2007 | Tony Rennel

[IncPen]

ping

[G Larry]

Actually, the 1973 Yom Kippur war is the closest we’ve ever come to nuclear war.

As the Soviets prepared to back Egypt, the U.S. was standing strong behind Israel, and both sides were actively preparing for a nuclear exchange.

[gusopol3]

thanks; am I incorrect in remembering that Krushchev considered it a coup to get the US missiles out of Turkey, however?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***Apologies if I am incorrect, but wasn’t Howard Hughes ship the Glomar Explorer ? And wasn’t the Soviet vessel K-129 recovery project called Project Jennifer and didn’t it happen around the mid-1970’s ?***

http://www.answers.com/topic/project-jennifer

It may have been. A quick Google of Project Jenifer shows it was the Glomar Explorer but the sub sank in 1968. Recovery was in 1974.
I remember that Huges got hit with IRS fees when the Glomar Explorer was found to be a salvage ship and not a tax free research ship.

[kalee]

ping

[Gorzaloon]

Another factor in the Cold War in our favor, Americans play poker, Russians play chess. War more closely approximates poker because one can never KNOW with certainty all the variables.

That's profound. The study of the War Game was supposed to make them better at it.

Leningrad was not Chess. Well, maybe it was. The Germans tried a pawn march into what turned out to be a trap. A beginner knows better.

[UCANSEE2]

You iz rite!

http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/jennifer.htm

[Blue Highway]

I love chess but am easily beaten. Saw the video links. I like the gospel bluegrass band. Who is the Violin player? Very pretty.

[aruanan]

The former Hollywood cowboy was more affected by this than by any military briefings he might have had.

A review of Reagan's filmography at IMDB shows that much more often than not, Reagan was not a Hollywood cowboy.

[UCANSEE2]

How to avoid paying past due taxes to the IRS.

[pyx]

Reagan and his advisers were shocked, and more impetus was put behind finding ways to end the arms race with the Soviet Union.

The MSM's continued portrayal of Reagan as feckless and weak or as a reckless 'cowboy' in view of their continual fawning and bootlicking of their much missed Soviet empire still gives me the dry heaves.

Standing tall and demanding publically at Brandenberg Gate on June 12, 1987, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall !", takes a real man with cast iron cajonies.

The reason the MSM has earned and is the dinosaur media is because its continued attempts at revisionism, lies and manipulations of public opinion. The LEFT will always attempt to cling to power or if the LEFT is losing its grip, the LEFT will attempt to SILENCE its critics.

The "New Media" and the Internet are where people now go for their news and information. The LEFT will attempt to control and SILENCE those that dissent in the "New Media" and on the Internet because the LEFT cannot compete and win in the arena of ideas.

[NY Attitude]

Apologies if I am incorrect, but wasn't Howard Hughes ship the Glomar Explorer ? And wasn't the Soviet vessel K-129 recovery project called Project Jennifer and didn't it happen around the mid-1970's ?

Yes. There have been books written about this situation. Blind Man's Bluff is just one of them.

[Vor Lady]

Ping for later read.

[Farmer Dean]

I’ve seen more intelligent expressions on wrestlers.

[ops33]

The ship was the Glomar Explorer and its secret mission was to raise the K-129 that had sunk on April 11, 1968. The submarine sunk approximately 750 miles north west of Hawaii. The mission to raise the submarine was known as Operation Jennifer and became public in 1975 after the Los Angeles Times printed an article about the plan, afterward followed by articles in the New York Times. One article I read gave 4 possible explanations for the submarine sinking; 1). hydrogen explsion of the batteries while charging, 2). collision with the USS Swordfish SSN 579, 3). missile explosion caused by leaking leaking missile door seal, and 4). the vessel exceeding its operational capabilities.

[Vision Thing]

This is where our Leftist media enters the equation. They painted Reagan as “reckless” and could have caused a nuclear conflagration, as a result. The msm’s hatred of Republican presidents and their unflagging attempts to ruin their time in office does have consequences in this dangerous world.

Even worse, whenever the author refers to the Soviets as the Evil Empire, he puts the words "Evil Empire" in quotes. But when he applies the word "evil" to America, he leaves it out of quotes:

"Even more convinced of Washington's evil intentions, Andropov stepped up Operation RYAN..." (My emphasis in bold added.)

[BenLurkin]

The near-miss of 1983 has long been known by historians of the Cold War. But this documentary will bring it to a wider audience.

Interesting timing for this pro-Soviet presentation .

[Vision Thing]

Another factor in the Cold War in our favor, Americans play poker, Russians play chess. War more closely approximates poker because one can never KNOW with certainty all the variables. No matter how much info the Reds gathered, there was always some uncertainty, so they would never call a bluff.

Both poker and real life are games of imperfect information. Chess, on the other hand, is a game of perfect information: Everything you need to know is right there in your face. The Russians played chess, which was the wrong game to play.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***..that had sunk on April 11, 1968.***

I was at Kadina AFB then. It was just a few days after MLK got shot in the US.

[ops33]

I never got to the Far East but I don’t have any complaints about where I was assigned. Most of my career was in Europe; first Mildenhall, then Zweibrucken and finally West Berlin.