Trump: Our nukes might not work; our military is depleted

[left-of-center2012]

Trump would consider letting Japan and South Korea build nuclear arsenals
Donald Trump would consider allowing Japan and South Korea to build their own nuclear arsenals instead of depending on the U.S. for their protection against North Korea and China, he said in an interview with The New York Times published Saturday.

“There’ll be a point at which we’re just not going to be able to do it anymore,” Trump said, pointing at what he calls a “severely depleted” military.
“We have nuclear arsenals which are in very terrible shape,” he said. “They don’t even know if they work.”

Trump also said that he would consider pulling U.S. forces out of Japan and South Korea if they don't step up contributions.

(Previously Trump said we should get out of NATO)

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/274385-trump-would-consider-letting-japan-and-south-korea-build-nuclear-arsenals

[VMA131Marine]

1. Trump is an idiot! The Minuteman III fleet is currently in the process of a major refurbishment ...

and life extension program at a cost of some $800 million:

https://www.orbitalatk.com/flight-systems/missile-defense-systems/minutemaniii-refurbishment/

http://www.bga-aeroweb.com/Defense/Minuteman.html

On the submarine side:

First deployed in 1990, the force of Trident II D5 missiles has been routinely tested and evaluated. It is currently being modernized to last until 2042.[xii] The Trident II D5 LEP is underway to modernize key components, notably the electronics. In 2008, 12 life-extended variants of the D5 were purchased; 24 D5s were produced each year through 2012 for a total of 108 missiles at a total cost of $15 billion. The first modified D5s were deployed in 2013. The Navy’s FY 2016 budget request included a proposed $1.1 billion to fund the Trident II LEP.

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/USNuclearModernization

[Wounded Bear]

2. Hi cranial rectimitis is fucking legendary...nt

[braddy]

3. The guy who didn't even understand what the nuclear triad was as

everyone else at the debate were discussing it.

[VOX]

4. Smacks a bit of outsourcing...

Of responsibility, at least. Never heard so much crazy sh**.

[jmowreader]

5. Letting JAPAN build a nuclear arsenal? I take it they don't teach history at Wharton

Come on, Donald: Japan doesn't even get to call their army an army - the Japanese Army is called the "Self-Defense Forces" - because they have a history of trying to take over the world.

[former9thward]

6. Japan has enough plutonium to build 5000 atomic bombs.

Plutonium has no peacetime use but is being stored by Japan so that it can build the weapons in a six month period.

Japan now has 9 tons of plutonium stockpiled at several locations in Japan and another 35 tons stored in France and the U.K. The material is enough to create 5,000 nuclear bombs. The country also has 1.2 tons of enriched uranium.

Technical ability doesn’t equate to a bomb, but experts suggest getting from raw plutonium to a nuclear weapon could take as little as six months after the political decision to go forward. A senior U.S. official familiar with Japanese nuclear strategy said the six-month figure for a country with Japan’s advanced nuclear engineering infrastructure was not out of the ballpark, and no expert gave an estimate of more than two years.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/fukushima-anniversary/japan-has-nuclear-bomb-basement-china-isnt-happy-n48976

[jmowreader]

7. And now you know why letting Japan become a nuclear nation is not so good