As 2025 Draws to a Close, the Threat of Nuclear War Looms: Is Humanity on the Brink?

Letter to the editor

Dear sir,

As 2025 draws to a close, the threat of global military conflagration intensifies. Current conflicts escalate, and fiery political exchanges continue to fuel tensions. We are reaching a point where the use of nuclear weapons may become an unfortunate reality.

In 1955, Winston Churchill famously said this about nuclear weapons: Safety will be the sturdy child of terror, and survival the twin brother of annihilation. 

Today, as we approach this critical juncture, the Doomsday Clock has been reset to 60 seconds before midnight – a stark metaphor for the end of the world.

The threat of accidental or intentional nuclear war continues to emerge. A recently declassified intelligence report reveals that cyber threats to nuclear weapons and related systems – including planning systems, early warning systems, communications, and delivery systems – are increasing the risk of unauthorized use. False warnings could undermine confidence in the nuclear deterrent, as the speed, stealth, and unpredictability of cyber attacks make it difficult to anticipate, deter, or defend against.

A 2007 report by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War suggested that even a limited nuclear exchange could lead to the deaths of more than a billion people due to widespread climate disruption. The US National Academy of Sciences predicts that in the event of a total nuclear assault by all nine nuclear powers, four billion people could be wiped out. Radiation and nuclear debris respect no borders – radioactive ash will envelop the planet, and human life will virtually cease to exist. Those who survive will ultimately succumb to the fallout.

If we accept that the development, deployment, and use of nuclear weapons threaten the continued existence of mankind and the international community, then we must acknowledge that nuclear weapons are incompatible with international law and global security.

US President John F Kennedy, during the Cuban Missile Crisis – when humanity stood on the brink of destruction – famously said: In the aftermath of a nuclear war, the living will envy the dead.

Albert Einstein, too, predicted that the Fourth World War would be fought with sticks and stones.

We must face this reality before it’s too late.

Yours sincerely,

Farouk Araie | Benoni 

DAILY NEWS