With the winds of war that have not suffered so strong for decades, all that remains is to hope for the common sense of those who govern us. And that some red lines continue to be taboo, unsurpassed. Looking back, however, there is no quiet so much: if it is true, in fact, that no one has used the atomic bombs since the end of the Second World War, many leaders of the past have however ruled with their hand on the proverbial “atomic button” while their health was shaky, to the point of being able to compromise their judgment. A very reassuring revelation, which comes from a study by the New Zealand University of Otago, recently published in the BMC Research Notes magazine.
Nixon’s attack order: she was drunk
The research was created precisely to evaluate how much attention has been made, in the past, to the psychophysical health of the leaders of the nations with a nuclear arsenal. To avoid, therefore, that rulers capable of triggering an atomic conflict on a global scale were made to make decisions without being in full possession of their mental faculties. The anecdotes in this sense, on the other hand, are not lacking.
Like the voices on Richard Nixon, whose alcoholic excesses would mark the entire presidential experience, until the resignation for the Watergate scandal: it is said that in 1969, drunk, he ordered an atomic attack on North Korea in response to the removal of an American spy plane, fortunately ordered to the last from the then state secretary Henry Kissinger, who convinced the ever to wait He disposed of the hangover before proceeding with the bombs.
Who could trigger an atomic war
Or those on John Fitzgerald Kennedy, of which the Addison’s disease was covered, a chronic disease of the endocrine system which can also cause neuropsychic symptoms, among others. His health would have been particularly compromised in the first two years of mandate, 1961 and ’62, also for the use of steroids and amphetamines: not surprisingly, it is precisely in ’61 that he authorized the bankruptcy operation that led to the accident of the bay of the pigs.
Obviously, leaders affected by health problems are not only Americans while they were in command. On the other side of the iron curtain, Nikita Khrushchev is said to be suffering from mental health problems (in this case, however, there are no confirmations), and which could be the basis of two of the most critical episodes of the Cold War: the Berlin crisis and the crisis of Cuba missiles, in which the world literally found itself one step from the Apocalypse.
The health (precarious) of those who govern the powers
Aside, as often, how often the future of our planet has been hanging (also) to the shaky health of a leader of the nine atomic powers (United States, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, North Korea and Israel)? The New Zealand research analyzed the information available on the health of 51 former heads of state who died today. Of these, eight died while they were in office due to chronic diseases, with an average of almost four pathologies each, and a list of disorders that includes cardiovascular diseases, personality disorder, depression, abuse of substances and cognitive decline following vascular dementia. Not exactly the kind of people to whom we would reinforce the fate of the planet with peace, in short.
As for the leaders who managed to conclude their mandate while they were still alive, 15 suffered confirmed health problems that are believed to have contributed to the death in the following years. “Probably, the performance of all 15 these leaders of state have been compromised by their health conditions while they were still in office,” explains Nick Wilson, public health expert of the University of Otago who led the research. “In some cases, the degree of compromise was profound, as for two former Israeli ministers: Ariel Sharon, who entered Coma after suffering a stroke while he was in charge, and Menachem Begin, whose depression was so serious that he made him spend his last year as an isolated leader at home”.
The 51 heads of state under the command of nuclear arsenals
The results according to Wilson show that we should pay more attention to the health of our rulers. Especially when they have access to an atomic arsenal. And in particular in moments of international high voltage, like the one we live in these months. “This is particularly true in the case of the United States – concludes Wilson – where the president can, in principle, authorize the use of atomic devices on his own initiative, a situation to which we refer to by calling it a ‘nuclear monarchy'”.
Difficult not to give him reason. And then to the efforts for disarmament and geopolitical stability, perhaps, in the future it will also be good to combine special attention against the heads of state and their health. Finding the way to promote it, of course. But also paying attention not to elect them (where possible), when they give clear signs of instability. Every reference, it does not need to say, is purely random.
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