From Alligator Alleys to Fallout Shelters | The American Spectator

When it comes to World War III and nuclear war, the sky is not falling. Yet. But there are definitely storm clouds on the horizon.

Iran’s attempts to develop nuclear weapons was stopped in its tracks — or at least derailed for the foreseeable future. On June 22, President Donald Trump ordered the Fordo uranium enrichment plant obliterated by B-2 stealth bombers and 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs. This was accomplished against the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin’s recurrent threats to employ nuclear weapons every time the EU proposes additional support for Ukraine. 

North Korea has over 50 assembled nuclear warheads and enough fissile material to double that number — and fast-tracked ballistic missile testing throughout Biden’s term in office.

Red China makes no bones about its plans to field 1,500 nuclear capable ICBMs by 2035. If 2035 seems a long way off (it isn’t) — the world became less safe in the here and now when Russian ex-President Dmitry Medvedev waxed aggressive on Elon Musk’s X social media platform. Responding to Trump’s proposed economic sanctions, Medvedev threatened nuclear war. “Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war,” “tweeted” Medvedev. “Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his (Trump’s) own country.

President Trump responded by deploying two nuclear submarines to undisclosed locations — “Just in case these [Medvedev’s] foolish and inflammatory remarks are more than just that.” 

The world, post-Russia/Ukraine conflict, is unsettled. Ukraine was forced to refurbish Soviet-era bomb shelters to protect its civilian population. Russia has always maintained its vast networks of underground and hardened shelter sites. All EU nations and neighbors, from England to Germany and Norway to Finland, have begun investing in bomb shelters and fallout bunkers for their respective populations. Even Japan is preparing its citizens for the worst.

America is behind the curve when it comes to civil defense. No credible air threat had ever threatened the continental mainland. Continuity of government missions produced hardened sites for elected, appointed, and military leadership, but no serious efforts went into mass shelters for the populace. A brief flirtation with urban evacuation to the interior failed when the enormity of caring for tens of thousands of urban refugees in rural settings proved insurmountable and cost prohibitive.

That’s where synchronicity comes in play.

If the U.S. is behind the curve when it comes to protecting our population from potential nuclear attack — we are way ahead of the curve when it comes to sealing our borders against invasion. The challenges of dealing with uncounted millions of illegal aliens who lied and cheated their way into our country may hold the key to affordable shelter for citizens in time of war. 

In the process of identifying, arresting, and deporting criminal trespassers, human traffickers, and potential terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have established a useful network of temporary detention centers. From Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Newark, to Atlanta, Houston, and Salt Lake City, ICE has repurposed federal facilities, military bases, and local correction facilities and jails to temporarily detain illegal aliens pending deportation.  Temporary is the key.

While some of the detainment centers, like reopened penitentiaries and rented jail spaces, are patently inappropriate for housing displaced city dwellers, many others are more than adequate, requiring little or no modification or retrofitting. Purpose-built facilities like Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” and the dozens of similar facilities currently under consideration offer “soft shelter” in relative comfort for tens of thousands of citizens. Many if not most are located far from the most obvious targets of hostile action — and could be gradually “hardened” over the years at a fraction of the cost of constructing “conventional” fallout shelters.

It’s not as farfetched as it might seem at first glance, and dovetails well with the oft-stated goals of the Trump administration to Make America Great Again with a respected military, secure borders, greater government efficiency, and avoidance of military adventurism in foreign lands.