Strangelove and the ring of truth

This year is the 100th anniversary of the First World War´s outbreak. At the same time, we mark the 50th anniversary of ´Dr Strangelove´, Stanley Kubrick´s famous 1964 Cold War comedy of men and machines in terminal chaos. This is an appropriate moment to remind ourselves that cleverly engineered weapons, once unleashed, cannot easily be put back in their crates. Today we look nervously towards Syria and the possibility of escalating violence in the Middle East and beyond. Could nuclear devices come into play?