Source: The Militant, Vol. 10 No. 33, 17 August 1946, p. 8.
Transcription/Editing/HTML Markup: 2021 by Einde O’Callaghan.
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People don’t enjoy thinking what America’s cities will look like when the sun goes down on the first day of World War III. After looking at the pictures of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, they prefer to think about something more pleasant.
Perhaps that’s why they read about the Paris “Peace” Conference with the wish something could really be done there to assure enduring peace. Mankind can’t stand much more bloodshed!
But, while the Truman Administration carefully makes the record at Paris, its generals and admirals are busily trying out the push buttons of World War III.
On August 5 two drone bombers took off from Hawaii. One of these pilotless planes was loaded with dummy bombs. “Mother” planes conducted the robots anywhere from a few hundred feet to three miles behind.
For 15 hours this sinister fleet crossed the open waters of the Pacific. They covered the 2,400 miles without the slightest mishap. Then off Santa Rosa Island, one of the robots opened its bomb-bays over the pre-determined target. The dummy could have been 5,000 pounds of TNT or an atomic bomb.
The flight ended as smoothly as if these drones were guided by the most skilled crews.
This experiment in push-button warfare proves that in a short time great swarms of robot planes can cross the Atlantic or Pacific loaded with atomic bombs.
As Brig. Gen. William L. Richardson, chief of the Army Air Forces guided missiles division remarked August 7, the American war machine has “just scratched the surface in guided missiles.”
These few grim words speak volumes more about the future under capitalism than all the pious declarations of Truman’s diplomats at Paris. Unless the workers take over in time, the push-button war now in the experimental stage will become a horrible reality.
Last updated on: 25 June 2021