“BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
Residents of Hawaii received this message in their mobile phones at 8:10am on January 13. Immediately after receiving the message, people rushed to safety. While some jumped into bathtubs, others took shelter in basements and even manholes.
Thirty-eight minutes later, they came to know that it was a ‘wrong’ message. The concerned authorities informed the people that an employee of Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency had actually pushed a wrong button, thus, triggering the panic!

Senior administrator of the Emergency Management Agency Vern Miyagi told the media: “I deeply apologise for the trouble and heartbreak that we caused today. We’ve spent the last few months trying to get ahead of this whole threat, so that we could provide as much notification and preparation to the public.” He said: “We made a mistake. We’re going to take processes and study this so that this doesn’t happen again. The governor has directed that we hold off any more tests until we get this squared away.”
Since December, Hawaii has been on high alert mainly because of soaring tensions between the US and North Korea, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un saying that his country has successfully test-fired ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to any parts of America. At a time when everyone thinks that a war may break out at ‘any moment’, it’s natural that such a message will create panic.
Of course, a mistake – like this – can trigger a war. For 38 minutes, people were thinking that it was true. Had some high-ranking officials thought the same and fired a ballistic missile targeting North Korea, then it could be devastating for the entire world.

Such an incident took place in erstwhile Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. The Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was flying from New York to Seoul via Anchorage, Alaska. As the plane deviated from its original route and entered the Soviet prohibited airspace, the Soviet Air Force treated it as an intruding American spy aircraft and fired warning shots. Later, the Air Force destroyed the plane with air-to-air missiles. The plane eventually crashed in the sea near Moneron Island and all 269 passengers and crew onboard were killed. Although the Soviet claimed that it was an “unintentional mistake”, the US tacitly refused to buy the argument.
In an atmosphere full of suspicion and hatred, any ‘wrong’ and ‘provocative’ information can cause disaster. We have to keep in mind that the concerned authorities have to make a final decision in a short time in case of advanced missile attacks and counter-attacks.
Political leaders should refrain from making ‘childish’ comments, like “I, too, have a nuclear button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my button works!” It is important to keep those buttons in safe hands, or else the global community will always be in danger!

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/boundlessoceanofpolitics/

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Google Plus:
https://plus.google.com/+KoushikDasboundless

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/kousdas?s=09

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das