New Movie Makes Nuclear War Look Alarmingly Real

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – This movie makes nuclear war feel disturbingly possible. An interview with “A House of Dynamite” screenwriters.

In the new movie, the clock is ticking. The film’s fictional president of the United States has less than 20 minutes and very little information to decide whether or not to retaliate against a nuclear missile, launched at the United States, from an unknown source.

In this movie the president is a rational — even affable — character. The military personnel follow all the correct protocol. The general in charge is reliable and unruffled.

“We did everything right, right?” one of the officers asks his colleagues.

The answer the movie provides is yes, but that doesn’t change the underlying insanity of the situation: The house of dynamite we’ve built could explode in a matter of minutes and wipe out cities’ worth of people.

The story is, of course, fiction, but as with Kathryn Bigelow’s other war movies, it feels disturbingly plausible. During the Cold War, the likely scenario was a war with the Soviet Union.

Now there are nine nuclear powers, which makes the possibility of error, rogue actors, or a total information vacuum more likely. And the arms race is only heating up.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense news from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

New national security strategy could redefine homeland defense. Recent budgets have prioritized innovation over deterrence, leaving a widening gap, according to a new report.

Trump says trade talks with Canada ‘terminated’ over anti-tariffs ad.

DEFENSE POLITICS

Pentagon investment over the past decade has so favored research and development over procurement that it “has left the Joint Force increasingly undersized, outdated, and less likely to prevail in high-intensity conflict against a peer.”

A guide to collaborating with (and not surrendering to) AI in the military classroom. If educators do not learn to embrace AI, they risk being left behind. So, the goal is how to do so in a way that prepares their students for the future.

US POWER OVERSEAS

U.S. military launched its ninth strike against a drug-carrying vessel, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

‘The threat of force’: How Trump might push out dictator Nicolas Maduro. Trump administration is barely bothering to pretend that its increasingly belligerent stance toward Venezuela is just about tackling narcotics.

UK confirms plans for new RAF Lakenheath projects to support US F-35A operations. New munitions-related facilities are being planned at the largest U.S. base in the UK.

President Trump’s push for Bagram Air Base: Strategic miscalculation or political posturing? A symbolic push for Bagram risks a regional escalation drawing in Russia, Iran, and China.

CHINA THREAT

China names military anti-graft buster as nation’s No. 2 general. Zhang Shengmin is now Vice Chair of the Central Military Commission, replacing the nation’s former No. 2 general who was kicked out of the Communist Party last week.

When it comes to missiles, U.S. lacks the magazine depth for a long fight, especially against a peer competitor like China.

RUSSIA THREAT

As Trump-Putin summit is put on hold, Vladimir Putin directed drills of the country’s strategic nuclear forces that featured practice missile launches.

Russia’s notorious glide bomb kits are now being combined with a small turbojet engine, a modification that provides this class of munition with a significant boost in range.

Ukraine is closer to obtaining Swedish Gripen-E fighters as part of its year-long quest to acquire the fourth-generation aircraft type, which is designed to operate from austere airstrips.

EU has a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine – how will it work? What are the legal implications, and why does Belgium fear being left alone with the bill?

How to fight Putin on the information battlefield. The West can’t fully adopt Russia’s methods—but it should study them.

MIDDLE EAST THREATS

VP JD Vance criticized a vote in Israel’s parliament the previous day about the annexation of the occupied West Bank, saying it amounted to an “insult” and went against the Trump administration policies.

Israel’s West Bank annexation moves threatening Gaza peace deal, says Marco Rubio. Secretary of state calls Knesset votes on imposing sovereignty ‘counterproductive’ as he begins two-day visit to Israel.

The biggest threat to the Gaza deal. Among the many aims of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, flooding Gaza with humanitarian assistance ought to be one of the most achievable.

Israel marks ‘yellow line’ in Gaza stipulated in peace plan as the ceasefire with Hamas continues.

Hamas has told Arab mediators that it will not carry out any more public executions, as the acts have threatened the stability of the group’s ceasefire with Israel. However, Hamas’ Arrow Unit has continued to carry out violent public beatings of Palestinians.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula kills 4 Yemeni soldiers in complex suicide assault. The attack targeted the headquarters of the 1st Support and Reinforcement Brigade, which is part of the alliance of pro-government forces in southern Yemen.

NORTH KOREA THREAT

North Korea fired several suspected short-range ballistic missiles off its northeastern coast, the first since South’s new president took office.

South Korea launched the first of three new ‘world-class,’ 3,600-ton diesel-electric submarines this week, marking another step in its efforts to strengthen its undersea fleet.

SPACE THREATS

As space weapons proliferate, spy satellites are getting new duties. Satellite imaging company Vantor—formerly Maxar Intelligence—has signed a contract with Space Force to help run a “neighborhood watch” in space.

Next space race will be won at night. First space race was about getting to the moon. Today’s race to the moon and Mars is about staying there.

Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo, Europe’s three big space operators, have announced a merger of their space businesses to take on competitors like Elon Musk’s Starlink.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Eurostar orders first double-decker trains for the cross-channel Tunnel (Chunnel).

Europe must build its own critical infrastructure. Amazon Web Services holds between 40% and 50% of the U.K. market for Infrastructure-as-a-Service, and its technology underpins the National Health Service, the Ministry of Defense and a wide range of public utilities and private companies.

 Trump says Australia will get the AUKUS submarines – but the decision won’t be his to make. If the US navy needs the subs, they cannot be sold to Australia, regardless of how much the president might wish it.

France could significantly expand its future commitments for the Dassault Aviation Rafale fighter, disclosing an intention to order more than 50 additional examples of the multirole type in the coming years.

US MILITARY

Air Force to lease thousands of acres of land at five bases to private firms to build their own AI data centers.

Soldiers due to leave the Army will now see their tours of service extended for 45 days because of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

Army could customize tanks for future urban warfare. For steel beasts, the most dangerous habitat is urban. Tall buildings and narrow city streets are unfriendly territory for a 12-foot-wide tank that weighs 70 tons.

Army has picked AeroVironment to supply a new anti-air interceptor, primarily to provide an additional layer of defense against longer-range one-way attack drones and other similarly sized uncrewed aerial systems.

Sikorsky’s fully autonomous UH-60 Black Hawk variant is ready for production, with prototype flights planned within a year.

 END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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