Speculations exploded online after the Trident missile test over Southern California that caused widespread panic that the U.S. government has reached an advanced stage of preparation for World War III. Speculations and rumors about an ongoing preparation for World War III peaked after reports emerged in the online rumor mill of a massive explosion in the Salton Sea area alleged to have been part of the weapons test.
Prior to the Trident missile test there had been reports that with the growing tension between the U.S. and its major geopolitical rivals, Pentagon planners have concluded that a major armed conflict between the U.S. and a major military power in the next few years is inevitable. Thus, the U.S. military-industrial complex has stepped up preparations for World War III.
According to Patrick Martin, writing in the World Socialist Website , the U.S. military-industrial complex is responding to rising tensions with the nation’s geopolitical rivals with plans about how the U.S. could win World War III.
Pentagon planners have concluded that a major armed conflict between the U.S. and Russia or China, or both, in the next few years is inevitable. The assessment that the U.S. will likely have to go to war against a major military power in the next few years has increased the tempo of tactical and strategic preparation for World War III.
Congressional hearings by the Senate Armed Services Committee and a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee held last Tuesday, according reports, were evidence of the fact that preparations for war have reached an advanced stage, and that Democrats and Republicans have become convinced that World War III is inevitable.
ValueWalk reported that the hearings focused on plans for how the U.S. could win an armed conflict with a major military power. The plans were discussed under the assumption that the conflict would occur in a few years rather than in a decade or two.
The discussions during the hearings considered the technologies and assets that would be needed, including social and psychological preparation of the nation for inevitability of war.
Fresh speculations that the U.S. government is engaged in preparations for World War III erupted in the rumor blogosphere after the U.S. Navy announced that a mysterious cone-shaped blazing light that streaked across the night sky over Los Angeles and Southern California causing panic was, in fact , a planned missile test and not a UFO or a meteor as many residents of Los Angeles thought.
CNN reports that after the light was seen shooting through the night skies in Southern California, a spokesperson for the Navy Strategic Systems Programs Navy Cmdr. Ryan Perry, said the Navy conducted a scheduled Trident II (D5) missile test off the coast of Southern California from the ballistic missile submarine, USS Kentucky.
“The tests were part of a scheduled, ongoing system evaluation test. Launches are conducted on a frequent, recurring basis to ensure the continued reliability of the system. Each test activity provides valuable information about our systems, thus contributing to assurance in our capabilities.”
Immediately after the announcement by the military authorities, a time-lapse gif emerged, courtesy of self-described photography hobbyist Porter Tinsley , in the rumor blogosphere showing an alleged “massive” explosion in the California desert near the Salton Sea. The explosion allegedly happened at the time of the missile test.
There are rumors in the conspiracy theory blogosphere that the explosion was a nuclear weapons test in the Salton Sea area. The footage sparked rumors that the U.S. government may have entered into final preparations for World War III.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oQhke3g-VY
It was alleged that the site of the explosion coincided with the direction in which the Trident missile was seen flying, implying that the alleged explosion was due to detonation of a warhead carried by the missile undergoing testing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwKxDQOodjw
However, this contradicts the claim by the U.S. Navy that the missile undergoing test was unarmed.
Others speculated that the weapon undergoing testing was not a Trident II D-5 but a system under development designed to intercept submarine-based ICBMs launched near the U.S. Coast. This led to specualtions that the explosion near the Salton Sea exposed a vulnerability in the national defense system and that the revelation is being handled as an emergency.
But others said that the U.S. was only sending a warning to its rivals through a demonstration of its capabilities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C4enru1mQI
The doomsday conspiracy theory blog All News Pipeline cited an August 8, 2015, report by the Desert Sun which points out the historical significance of the Salton Sea area in U.S. war history.
According to the report, the Salton Sea area was used by the USAF to practice for dropping atomic bombs on Japan. Lt. Col Paul Tibbets and the crew of Enola Gay flew “hundreds of times” over Salton Sea, dropping mock bombs to practice how to escape from the blast of the atomic bomb.
[Image via Julien Solomita / YouTube ]