Several times a year, test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at Vandenberg Space Force Base — usually late at night — disturb the sleep of many folks living in northern Santa Barbara County.

The base sends these missiles approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. I perceive these launches as wakeup warnings that our human existence hangs in a nuclear balance.

What follows is a recent example of why.

On Sept. 30, President Trump addressed nearly 800 generals and admirals at an auditorium in Marine Base Quantico in Virginia. Trump’s speech was long and comedic in places. It was also distressing.

Here I refer to the president’s discussion on America’s nuclear forces.

Consider these comments Trump made in his address:

“We were a little

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